Redemption
by Lady Aphadriel-order of the kai
Summary: Covenant sequel. During the witch trials, the men of the Covenant chose The Power over family. For over 300 years The Daughters of Ipswich have not forgotten. Curses on both sides now comes to focus as they're reunited after 13 generations ReidOC TylerOC
1. Survival: A Covenant is Formed

Disclaimer: Don't own or profit from.

Summary: sequel to The Covenant. At the time of the witch trials, the men of the Covenant of Silence chose The Power over family. For over 300 years the daughters of Ipswich have not forgotten. A curse laid on both sides now comes to focus as they are reunited after 15 generations. Has either side learned anything in that amount of time? (Reid/OC, Tyler/OC, Pogue/Kate, Caleb/Sarah, probaly more)

**Prologue 1: Survival****– **A Covenant is Formed

They ran from persecution in Europe, hoping the New World would provide an opportunity for a new life. A place where people could start anew without the bitterness and suspicions of a paranoid people.

But paranoia followed them across the sea.

The five families of power were five familes joined because of a common birthright, a common practice, persecution, and friendship. For several generations they had lived together as friends, allies, confidants. As the New World proved to be as unfriendly as the old, they bound together for survival. An oath was taken to protect the power, and with it, themselves. No one was to speak of the power, to share the knowledge and who held it with outsiders. By keeping it amongst themselves it was hoped that persecution and the fears of others would leave them untouched.

It left them vulnerable to themselves.

As the villages and paranoid people of the New World, who claimed they were fleeing from persecution, turned to persecute them they stuck to the oath more tightly than ever.

But the colonists were out for blood.

Too soon, they turned to the five families. The five who were wealthy, who were powerful, who were friends with each other . . . everything they had come to fear in the Old World. Even if they didn't have magical powers they still feared the families. When the villagers attacked and slandered the families they said nothing in their own defense hoping the attacks would die away. Falsely, it was hoped if they didn't demonstrate any real power the villagers would have nothing to persecute them for.

Husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters (for way back when it was not unheard of for a family to have a son and daughter) kept their oaths not to reveal themselves to the panic-induced villagers. It was all for naught as the villagers continued their plight against the five families. The daughters of the five families fell victim to the ravings of the simple-minded peasants. When they turned to their families they were left to their fate as each brother chose to maintain the oath, and with it their own safety, over the lives of their sisters. As each sister, one by one, died by the crazed villagers the brothers feared the villagers would turn to them next and each solemnly vowed that above all, the oath would be maintained and formed a Covenant of Silence

So their sisters had to be sacrificed.

And disappear from the record.

But they, unknowingly to their brothers, had the last word.


	2. Betrayal: A Coven is Formed

Disclaimer: Don't own or profit from this.

Author's Notes The history from the sisters point of view (since the last chapter was the brothers). Enjoy! And review!

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**Prologue 2: Betrayal: A Coven is Formed **

The Book of Damnation tells the trials of the covenant, the need for secrecy, the courage and determination of five men to survive in a time of persecution.

It was a book of lies. Half truths at best.

The Covenant was formed out of necessity, forsaking everything– and everyone– for The Power.

Blood may be thicker than water, but it is less seductive than power.

Remembrance Simms fell in love with the wrong man, and a jealous wife watched as the shocked expression on her face the night of her capture and then at her water testing, changed from shock to anger– at the people hunting her, killing her, and most importantly, the brother who turned his back on her.

Rosemary Parry watched in horror as her friend was killed, but hoped it wouldn't touch her own little family. When the accusations didn't stop, the villagers turned their superstitions and misguided beliefs on her. She watched, horrified, as they bound her before the river and she thought her heart broke when she saw them carry off her husband who was trying to save her.

Eleanor Putnam's husband had the luckiest death, a clean shot through the heart as he rushed the crowd trying to get to the rushing water and rescue his wife from the river.

Hope Garwin, in a fury blinded by her rage, tried to fight her attackers using what was left of her broken power and nearly burned the entire town to ashes before the fire finally claimed her.

Charlotte Danvers, the young widow, never saw her newborn child as the last of her protections failed and she was drugged and left to torment and flame.

The betrayed sisters died, leaving a curse behind with their last breath for those who chose the power over their blood, sad they would never see the repercussions of their brothers cowardly act.

Little did they know, their last use of Power would curse the very people they would come to want to protect most.

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_Author's Notes: next chapter begins with the modern day descendants, and will pick up a few months after the movie ended. _


	3. The Players Meet

Disclaimer: Characters from the Covenant movie as well as references to the movie do not belong to me. Plot and new characters are mine.

Author's Notes: Now we meet the five current generations of the five sisters. Patience (the eldest), Violet (second eldest and married to Paul), Hannah (the middle and is about 19), Faith and Abigail who are both 18.

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**Chapter 1: The Players Meet**

Abigail and Faith sat around the parlor shocked by what they were hearing. "You are actually telling us to go to a rave?" Faith asked in disbelief as Paul, their straight-laced brother-in-law, told them to go. "You don't believe in fun unless it's reading about the Boston Tea Party," Faith pointed out.

"Normally, under circumstances for normal people, I would tell you to stay home and study. But you need to stop taking life so seriously _precisely_ because of why you do," he explained.

"For the record, I wasn't going to argue," Abigail said, laughing, and kissed his cheek.

"If it's a vote, I say Abigail should wear that blue top she just got– goes great with your blonde hair, and Faith should wear that blood red one," Hannah said as she placed Isabel, her infant, in the cradle next to her twin brother Chase.

"Just start looking and have fun," Violet spoke up from where she was sitting next to Paul. "If you want to go Hannah, we can watch the twins," she volunteered.

"Maybe the next party," Hannah said.

"You sure?" Patience, the eldest, asked. "I have experience and Violet and Paul are going to need the practice. Chase and Isabel will be fine."

"I don't want to crash on your guys' hunt," Hannah said.

"We'd ask for your opinion anyways," Abigail said. "You need to have some fun." With a flash Hannah's clothes changed from comfortable, around the house, clothes to a sexy pair of capris and matching top. It took only moments later for Abigail and Faith to be changed and they all went out to Abigail's car, a midnight blue BMW.

"How did Paul hear about this rave anyways?" Faith asked as they drove.

"Some of his senior students," Hannah said. "They were talking about it in class last week. They graduated yesterday so this is the graduation bash."

They arrived at the rave late. "Ah, well, it's not like anyone is waiting for us," Faith said. They parked amongst the trees and headed over. "Okay, how hard can it be to find two hot guys?" she teased making them laugh.

"There is one right here," a voice said from behind them. "I don't think we've met before." The three of them exchanged looks.

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"Finally!" Reid said as they all arrived at the party. "After four years, we are finally finished."

"You do realize you have another 4 years with college, right?" Kate asked laughing. "To think we are all going to Harvard! You sure you didn't use some of _it_ to make this happen?"

Pogue grinned. He confessed to Kate what being a 'Son of Ipswich' truly meant after everything that happened with Chase. Seeing Caleb and Sarah together, and almost losing her, finally convinced him. "I told you, I had nothing to do with it," he said laughing.

Reid and Tyler started off without the two couples. "You ascend in a few weeks," Tyler said. "Aren't you . . . nervous?"

"Gonna tell me it's going to kill me again?" Reid snapped.

"Hey man, just concerned," Tyler said. "Look at Pogue, it was like hell, and he didn't use no where near like you."

"Let's not talk about this tonight. It's still a few weeks off," Reid said. "I intend to enjoy myself tonight," he said with a grin. "Check her out," Reid said pointing to a red head a few feet away.

"Nah," Tyler said. "She just got done with Aaron, remember?"

"That bad of taste?" he joked. He saw Aaron walking up to three new girls. "I haven't seen them before, you?" he asked pointing to a blonde, red head, and raven haired girls a few feet ahead of them.

"No. Which probably means they haven't heard of Aaron," he said.

"You never know, they could go for the slime ball," Reid said, but part of him, for a reason he couldn't explain, hoped they didn't go for his type– especially the blonde. They watched as Aaron refused to get the hint.

Reid and Tyler, followed by Caleb, Pogue, Sarah, and Kate walked up to the new girls. "I see you still haven't learnt the meaning of "no", Aaron," Reid said. "Must be hard to hear it again from another beautiful, and obviously intelligent, female."

"We were just getting to know each other," Aaron said. Suddenly he felt his legs give out from under him and he was lying on the sand looking up at the sky. "What the hell?"

"Oh, did you loose your footing?" Abigail said overly-sweetly. "Mind yourself," she said snidely.

"Hope he didn't harass you too bad," Sarah said. She stuck out her hand and shook Abigail's hand. "I'm Sarah."

"Abigail, Faith, and Hannah Coven," Abigail said pointing to all of them.

"This is my boyfriend Caleb," Sarah continued. "Kate and Pogue," She pointed, "and Reid and Tyler."

"You new?" Tyler asked.

"Sort of," Faith said smiling. "Home schooled, heard about the party, though, sounded good."

"Don't let Aaron give you the wrong impression," Caleb said, and Abigail thought with that grin she could understand Sarah's attraction to him. Working around girlfriends was part of the rules in the Coven.

Sarah jabbed Reid in the ribs. "Don't say she reminds you of your grandmother," she teased.

"What are your plans now?" Pogue asked.

"College," Faith said. "Isn't that normal?"

"Must be, we are going to Harvard," Reid said. "What about you?" he asked Abigail.

"Harvard," Abigail said smiling. "It will be nice to see familiar faces." She and Reid talked until the cops were called and everyone started running.

"Do you live in Ipswich?" he asked. She nodded. "I'll see you around then, Abigail," he said with a saucy grin.

Abigail laughed. "I'll be looking forward to it," she admitted. She found Faith and Hannah at their car and pelted away before the cops arrived.

"Yay! Even cops showed up! Not bad for our first party," Faith laughed. "Did you have fun?" she asked Hannah.

"Are you kidding? It was great," she said with a grin. "So, you are interested in Reid?" she asked Abigail.

"For what I have to do, yeah," Abigail said.

"Well, I like Tyler," Faith admitted. "Then again, you always did go for blondes."

"What can I say," Abigail laughed, flipping her blonde hair, as they pulled up in front of the manor house. "But with that grin of his, Caleb pulls a close second." They went in and Hannah went up to check on her babies while Faith and Abigail grabbed some ice cream and headed up to Faith's room to do some boy talk.

"So you serious about this girl?" Pogue asked as he, Kate, Tyler, and Reid drove off in the hummer.

"Since when is attraction a crime?" Reid asked.

"What was with Aaron? Just falling like that?" Kate asked. "Was it you Reid? You ascend in a few weeks, you should be careful."

"Why does every weird occurrence have to be my fault?" he asked. "No, I didn't do anything, although I wish I had. Prick." They dropped Kate off and then Pogue and Reid got out at the Simm Manor (Tyler's house). "See you tomorrow," Pogue said as he put his helmet on. He wouldn't tell Reid, but part of him was happy he was interested in this new girl. Maybe if he was around a normal girl for a while, he wouldn't be tempted to use as much. Especially right before his ascension, something they were all dreading.

If only Pogue knew how wrong he was.

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_Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and added me to their faves and alerts!! I am adding this quickly as I am running out of the door (moving is a hassle). Review! Even if it is just to say hi. The more reviews I get, the quicker I'll update!_


	4. Beginning of the Hunt

Disclaimer: New characters and plot belong to me, references and incidents from movie belong to the studio.

Recap: Abigail, Hannah, and Faith, three of the five modern day descendants of The Daughters, met The Sons at a party (without realizing they are the sons of Ipswich) and Abigail/Reid, Faith/Tyler hit it off.

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**Chapter 2: Beginning of the Hunt**

"So, are you girls going to pursue these guys?" Patience asked the next morning during breakfast.

"I'm thinking about it," Faith said. "He was rather cute," she admitted. "And kind. He seemed concerned that that Aaron jerk had offended or almost hurt us."

"Check for diseases," Hannah offered. "That's what you have to worry about, I mean, it's not like he's a Son of Ipswich. They seem like a nice, normal, non-psychotic choice."

"And this blonde one?" Violet asked.

"Cocky," Abigail said grinning. "Charming in his own way. Definitely cute."

"Well, good luck to both of you," Patience said. "Who can watch Hope for me next week?" They were all silent for a minute as the realization of what next week was. During that moment Hope came toddling in.

"Mommy! Can I have cereal this morning?" the six year old asked. Patience grinned and got breakfast for her daughter ready.

"I have a doctor's appointment, but I can reschedule," Violet offered.

"No, you need to make sure that baby girl of yours stays healthy," Faith said.

"You know they always are," Violet pointed out.

"I can. I was going to take Chase and Isabel to the park after I took them to their doctor's appointment for their check up," Hannah volunteered.

"I can do it," Abigail and Faith volunteered. "You guys go on with your plans," Faith said.

After breakfast Faith and Abigail drove into town. "Is it too obvious if we are here the day after?" Faith wondered.

"Not for Tyler. He seems like a kind, straight forward guy," Abigail said reassuringly. "Reid . . . maybe hard to get would be the best tactic," she thought.

"Well, unless you disappear right now, I'd say it's too late," Faith said. "There are their friends. . . Sarah and Kate, right?" Faith asked as Sarah and Kate walked up to them.

"Yeah," Kate said happily. "We were going to head to the new store opening on fifth avenue. Want to join us?" Faith and Abigail nodded and they all walked down to the new clothing store.

"I think you impressed Reid and Tyler," Sarah said. She laughed as Faith broke out into a huge grin. Abigail shot her a glance of disapproval. She waited until they had finished shopping and pulled her aside.

"Do you forget what will happen to you if you get attached?" Abigail said. "Don't get attached, Faith. For _your _sake," she warned. Faith nodded soberly as they caught up with Sarah and Kate. They ran into the guys a little bit later, and everyone started talking animatedly.

"I was hoping to see you again," Reid said with his saucy grin which made Abigail blush. They all continued running their errands until Sarah and Caleb went to get some things for Caleb's mom, and Pogue and Kate went off to another store together.

"Do you think they planned that?" Faith whispered to Abigail.

"You should come to Nicky's," Reid said as they walked down the street to Abigail's car. "It's where everyone goes."

"Sounds great, but I can't today," Abigail said. "How about a raincheck?"

"Is tomorrow better?" Reid asked. Abigail laughed and nodded. "Great. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No," Abigail looked over her shoulder at Faith and Tyler, knowing she was getting an invite as well. "I think I'll drive me and Faith there."

The next night they pulled up at Nicky's. "Do you think you can do this?" Faith asked Abigail. They were currently sitting in their car outside. "I mean, I'm afraid I'm getting attached to Tyler. I think I should break it off before it begins, just pick a random guy for it."

Abigail nodded. "I can see where I would get attached to Reid. Oh, he's adorable," she gushed and then laughed. "I already sound attached, huh? I just keep telling myself it's better for him if I don't, if I keep myself from falling for him."

"If that doesn't work?" Faith asked. "Please tell me there is a plan B."

"Break it off, as soon as we are in too deep?" Abigail offered. She didn't want to think about the problems becoming attached would cause. "Just enjoy tonight, work on getting closer to our goal, and then we are done with them. They'll go on to have normal lives, being normal people, and won't remember us."

"I know. _That's_ the part I have a problem with," Faith muttered. She fixed her hair and they went in.

They found Reid and Tyler playing pool, and Pogue, Kate, Caleb, and Sarah on the dance floor. "They look good together," Faith said, nodding towards the two couples. They went up to the bar and got some drinks. "I'm glad you came," Reid said behind her. She turned and couldn't help but smile.

"When you said popular, I didn't know you meant this popular. How often do you come here?" She was hoping that didn't sound as lame she thought.

"Usually weekends during school," Reid said shrugging. "Do you play pool?" She nodded and she and Faith played them a game. Then a second game when the guys demanded a rematch.

"Abigail!" Sarah said happily coming up to them. "Come on," She said grabbing her and Faith's hands. "Let the guys do their thing, we like to have our own fun." She dragged them to the dance floor.

"How long have you and Caleb been dating?" Faith asked.

"The school year. I had just transferred here from Boston Public, and Kate introduced me to the guys," Sarah explained.

"What about you and Pogue?"

"2 years now," Kate said happily. "Don't get me wrong, we've had our ups and downs, but I think we have a few more ups to come."

Abigail smiled. "Want me to read your fortune?" She asked. "I can tell you exactly how many more ups and downs."

Kate laughed. "Palm reader?"

"Of sorts. If you want me to read your palm," Abigail shrugged, not feeling the need to expand on her abilities. They had all taken the large table in the back. Kate held out her hands. Abigail took both of them into hers by the time Pogue and the other guys had joined them.

"What's going on?" Pogue asked.

"She's reading Kate's love life," Sarah said excitedly.

"Come on," Pogue said.

Faith glared at him. "She's the best," she said defensively.

Abigail looked and read her palms . . . and a little more. "You are destined to have one true, great love in life," she said. "One who will test you beyond any measure you would think humanly possible. One challenge has already presented itself, that almost led to your complete abandonment. It forced you to face a truth you did not ever, in your wildest dreams, believe would be real, demons that haunted you without you knowing; you became an unwilling victim, but after it was finished you discovered a strength together you never knew you had. . ."

"What about the future?" she asked breathlessly.

"Love will always be testing you . . . another fraught against darkness, one that challenges new found bonds. But trust in yourself, and whoever he is, will lead to new strengths for both of you." She looked up into their shocked faces. She laughed. "You expected me to look at her life line and say she'll live to be 87?" she asked. "Actually, you'll live to be 85, have 1 child, 1 grandchild, and live to see one great grand child," she declared.

"Will you read mine?" Sarah asked. Abigail nodded and took her palms.

"You two really know how to pick them!" Abigail shook her head. "You were a willing ploy in the demons that haunted you and him. A fighter, for who you trust your soul with. That trust was tested to unknown heights . . . and I'm going to guess you were successful," she said cheekily and winked. "One who befriended and betrayed you both, left stains that time _will_ heal, if you have faith. A deep passion was evoked, though, and you will learn to trust it."

"And?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"89 years, 1 child, a mother-in-law you already appreciate, and a true mate," she decided. "But . . . never mind."

"What?" Caleb asked.

Abigail raised an eyebrow realizing Caleb was taking this seriously (she didn't think guys generally did). "More trials before this is over. A few more old haunting come to surface."

"Okay, Abby, come with me?" Faith asked dragging her away towards the restroom. "What do you think you are doing? Freaking them out before we get done?"

"They asked. Besides, I kept it mostly related to their love life. There was a lot . . . more. Darker too, but I tried to keep it light."

Faith snorted. "Great. Might as well start looking for new guys now," she decided. "Probably just as well. I am too attached to Tyler."

"Yeah, well, whatever attachment I have for Reid is void since, as you pointed out, he probably thinks I'm a third degree psycho now. Or a cheap fortune teller."

They walked back out and ran into Reid as they were heading to the exit. "That was crazy, you know that?" Reid said intercepting them. Abigail lost Faith who somehow ended up with Tyler across the room

"Sorry. I tend to go . . . overboard."

_Actually, what was freaky was that it was actually accurate _he thought. "I've seen weirder," he said grinning. "So, what would you like to eat?"

"Whatever you are going to have," she said, and they all ended up with burgers and fries. Thankfully, no one else asked her about the fortune telling, and they talked about the summer and starting Harvard in a few months.

"I had a good time," Abigail said as her and Reid were walking out together. "Thanks for inviting me."

"What are you doing this weekend?" he asked. He didn't know who was more surprised– him or Abigail.

"Busy with family stuff," she evaded.

"Maybe I'll see you next week then," he said. She smiled and waved as she got in the car and then drove off.

"Someone able to resist the Reid charm?" Pogue teased. "Never thought I'd see the day . . . well, except for Sarah," he amended once Reid was out of earshot.

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Author's Notes: Evasive, I know : ) Questions will be answered! I promise!


	5. Chance Meetings

Disclaimer: Do not own or profit from this. OC's and plot not referencing the original movie belongs to me.

_Just a reminder Hope is the daughter of Patience (the oldest Coven girl) and is 6 years old. : )_

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**Chapter 3: Chance Meetings**

Tyler and Reid were driving through town the next week, when they passed by the park at the end of town and Tyler slammed on the brakes. "Geez! You probably gave me whiplash," Reid said. "There's a reason I always drive."

"I think we'll be late getting to Caleb's," Tyler said. He had already parked and turned the car off.

"What?" Reid asked. "What are we doing?"

"Look," Tyler pointed to a pair of girls in the park. Reid looked and saw it was Abigail and Faith. They got out and headed over.

"Tyler!" Faith hissed in warning.

Abigail looked over and saw them coming. "Hope, honey, remember what we talked about? No one is to see you use your powers, right?"

"I promise Aunt Abby! I'm a big girl now!" Hope declared. She rushed off with her toy again.

"Hey," Tyler said. "We were driving by and saw you," he explained to Faith. Hope ran back up to Abigail to show her some 'treasure' she had found.

"That's a beautiful rock honey," Abigail said laughing. "Why don't you find one for your mom, okay? She's going to need something beautiful after today." Hope rushed off saying something about it being The Bad Day. "Just one!" Abigail hollered. The last thing she wanted was a trunk full of rocks.

"Cute kid," Reid said. "Who is she?" The little girl had mousy brown hair that didn't match Abigail's blonde hair, or Faith's raven black hair

"Hope," Abigail said laughing. "Our niece," she explained. "Patience, her mom, isn't feeling well today, and everyone else had plans, so we volunteered to do some babysitting. We thought the park might take her mind off . . . her bad day. What about you? What were your plans?"

"We were just going to Caleb's. We are going up to Boston this weekend. Want to come?" Reid asked.

"Sure," Abigail grinned. "Haven't been up there yet this summer."

"So how many sisters do you have anyways?" he asked remembering Hannah.

"There are five of us," Abigail said. "Faith and I are the youngest."

"I can't find one," Hope came up pouting and covered in mud making the four of them laugh.

"What are you looking for hon?" Faith asked.

"A rock for mama for The Bad Day," Hope pouted. "I can't find a red one. She likes red," she declared as she passionately explained it to Reid and Tyler.

"Did you try over there?" Reid asked pointing to a tree a few feet off. Hope ran over and with a flash, Reid made a small, brown-red stone appear. Hope gave a squeal of delight.

"I found the treasure!" Hope said gleefully, clapping her hands. Abigail grinned. "Reid picked out a good spot then," she said, laughing. She didn't see the look Tyler shot Reid for using his magic.

"I'm hungry," Hope said. Abigail checked her watch. "Do you want to go to McDonald's?" Faith asked. Hope clapped happily.

"You can't tell mama, okay?" Abigail said. "She'd skin us alive," she told Reid. "McDonald is reserved for special occasions only." She told Hope to get her treasures and toys.

"Do you want company?" Tyler asked. Faith nodded and they met up at the restaurant. Faith ordered for Abigail and Hope, while Abigail went to help clean up Hope.

"How old is she?" Tyler asked.

"She's six," Faith said with a grin. "Finish your milk, then you can play," she told Hope who was eager to play on the toys. They watched Hope play for awhile before finally saying they should head back.

"We'll pick you guys up then Friday morning?" Reid asked.

Abigail nodded as she got Hope in the car. "We are staying in our House in Cambridge, so it is on the way," she explained. She told them where their house in Cambridge was and Hope waved enthusiastically as they drove off.

"I am royally screwed," Abigail whispered so Hope wouldn't overhear the conversation.

"You are falling for him," Faith said. It wasn't a question but a statement since she was in the same predicament. When they got back they found Violet back from her doctor's appointment. "She's healthy as can be," Violet said.

"Look at the rock we found!" Hope said. "This one is for mama," Hope chatted happily. "I think I'll name him Reid," she decided, making Abigail practically fall over in shock.

"You are naming your rock Reid?" she asked.

Hope nodded. "It's smart, just like that boy who knew where it was," she decided.

"Maybe your mom should name it, honey," Violet said. She turned to Abigail. "Reid? Are things getting serious with him and Tyler?"

Abigail and Faith blushed. Hannah and Violet exchanged looks. "Well, . . ." Hannah trailed off. She didn't know what to say.

"We are going to Boston with them this weekend," Abigail said. "With _all_ of them," she pointed out, meaning Kate and Sarah as well.

"I envy the hippie generation. Free love," Faith said dejectedly, "made it easier for them." Hannah and Violet laughed.

"Well, have fun," Violet said. "Be careful, but have fun. You still have a little time, so you can have fun with Reid and see what happens," she told Abigail.

"You know as well as I that nothing can happen," Abigail said. "That's the problem." She grabbed a soda and went up to her room. _One weekend_ she decided. _If I still have an attraction to him after it, then I'll call things off. The question is, before or after I sleep with him?_

**

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_All questions will be answered in time : )_

_Review! Even if it is just to say 'Hi.' _


	6. Summer Fun

Disclaimer: Plot (not referring to the movie) and OC's are mine!

Author's notes/Recap: Sorry it has taken me so long! I was flying back and forth across the country for a while, then combating jet lag ; ( Sorry!! Thanks for all the reviews! Here is a recap of where we left off:

_After accidently running into Abigail and Faith (and their niece, Hope), Tyler and Reid invited them to join the entire gang for a weekend in Boston._

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**Chapter 4: Summer Fun**

Friday morning Reid and Tyler pulled up in front of their Victorian house in Cambridge. Abigail answered the door. "Hey, just give us a second," she said. "Please come in." They walked in to find Hope playing with toys in the living room, Hannah burping a baby girl, and Faith feeding a baby boy.

"You guys remember Hannah," Abigail said nodding towards the red head as she grabbed her bag in the hallway. "These are her babies," she said grinning as the baby boy smiled at her. "Ah, have fun Chase! Don't grow too much while I'm gone," she warned.

"It's only a weekend," Hannah said trying not to laugh. "Have fun," she called out as Faith and Abigail waved goodbye. They found the rest of the group outside waiting by the cars.

"This is going to be so much fun," Kate said excitedly. "Finally, there are enough girls, too." She and Sarah started talking about the shops they wanted to shop at.

"Man, I think we are getting in over our heads," Caleb said grinning. He and Pogue listened as Tyler and Reid told them about the other babies. "Sounds Crazy," Pogue said. "At least they seem normal and waiting to have kids." (A/N: Ah, Pogue is just wrong all the way around with these girls!)

Pogue, Kate, Sarah, and Caleb got into Pogue's car (he borrowed his mom's because it was larger) while Reid and Tyler got in the hummer with Abigail and Faith. They talked the entire way and arrived in Boston in no time. "I want to go to the museum," Sarah said making the boys grimace. "Ah, you guys go do your thing, we'll meet up with you for lunch." She grabbed Abigail's hand and they started walking towards the Museum with Kate and Faith. "You have a niece?"

"Hope," Abigail said. "You heard about the park?"

"Pogue told Kate," She admitted. "I'm an only child, so I won't have any nieces or nephews . . . well, until I get married," she said getting that look Abigail recognized all girls get when talking about the future. She recognized it since she (nor any of the Coven girls) never had it.

"We also have another niece, Isabel, and a nephew, Chase. They are just a few months right now," Faith added. She had seen the look as well on Kate as they talked. "They are Hannah's babies."

"Hannah has babies?" Kate asked surprised. "She looked so good at the party!"

"She'd thank you for that," Faith said laughing. "She worked hard to get rid of the baby look."

"And you all live together?" Sarah asked shocked. "How does that work?"

"All, um, of our . . . parents died when we were younger," Abigail said with a shrug. "It isn't weird, at least not to us."

"I wish I had that many sisters," Sarah said.

"Believe me, you don't want to change places with any of us," Faith said and they heard the sharp tone. Kate changed the subject to college.

"Did you know Reid's birthday is coming up?" Sarah told Abigail. "His birthday is at the beginning of June, and Tyler's is a few weeks after that."

"Really?" Abigail asked. "Should I get him something? I have no idea what to get him," she said starting to worry. The only guy she had ever had to buy a gift for was Paul, and she had only known him for a little over a year so she still didn't have a lot of experience.

"We'll help. Ooh, it will give us a mission while shopping this weekend!" Kate said happily.

When they walked out they found Caleb waiting for them. "Ah, couldn't wait to see me?" Sarah teased as he kissed her.

"Guilty. What were you girls planning next?"

"Shopping," Sarah said happily.

"I have to get something for my mother," he said. "I'll drive you. The other guys are going to meet up with us."

They piled into the Hummer he borrowed. The talk was animated as they drove around looking for shops that caught their eyes. "What are you looking for for you mom?" Abigail asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Caleb admitted. "Something to, well, make her happy, especially while I am gone at college."

"You're not dying. You can still visit her on the weekends," Abigail pointed out and Caleb heard her harsh tone. "She's very lucky, . . .you both are."

Caleb stared at her and Abigail was glad he wasn't a mind reader. "I'm all she has left," he explained.

"She should be glad she has you, then. You must be an adorable son," Abigail said. "I wonder what it's like to raise boys?" She said making Caleb laugh. "Coming from all girls, I have plenty of experience of buying gifts for females," she said and started combing through trinkets.

"This is gorgeous" Abigail said grabbing the broach for herself. "Are you wanting to get her jewelry, something larger, or something practical?"

"My mother has no taste for anything practical," Caleb joked.

"Then . . ." Abigail said walking towards one of the far walls. "I would say this," she said pointing to an elegant crystal vase. "Something she can use to decorate a room with, and with flowers it will cheer her mood. You should send her flowers when she gets lonely while you are away and then she will have something to think of while you are gone. Fresh flowers, all the time," she decided. "Something colorful."

"Perfect," Caleb said. He also got a broach for Sarah. They walked out to find Reid, Pogue, and Tyler waiting for them.

They went to grab lunch. "We are going to a play tonight," Reid said. They had bought tickets while the others were shopping. "Do you need something to wear? I don't know if we told you ahead of time."

"I'll find something," she said. "How long have you guys all known each other?"

"All our lives. We're like brothers," Reid said. Abigail certainly understood _that_. "Are you going to dorm at Harvard?'

"No, we are going to stay at our house in Cambridge since it's close to campus," Abigail said. "What about you?"

"Yeah, we all got dorms. I have a feeling we are still going to Ipswich, though."

"To see your parents?"

"My mom," he said. "My father died when I was 10."

"I'm sorry. I know Caleb also lost his father."

"We all have," Reid said but didn't go into details.

"I lost my mother when I was 7," Abigail admitted.

"What about your father?" Reid asked.

"I never met him," she said. "He left when my mother was pregnant with me."

"But surely your sisters told you about him," Reid said surprised.

"There wasn't much to tell," she said mentally cursing herself for slipping. "I never really wondered. I still had my sisters, that is all I need."

"I can't imagine what it's like to not have either parent," Reid admitted. "My mother is a strong, independent woman, and my father . . . well, he was pig-headed, according to my mother," he said with a grin.

"I hear your birthday is coming up," she admitted. "What do you want? If you could have anything, what would you like?"

"Anything?" He teased. "You could get me anything I want? Are you a genie?"

"You'd be surprised," she said. "And that is the first time someone has called me a genie."

"Honestly, I just want my birthday to be over with," he admitted.

"But isn't it your 18th?" She asked confused. "Aren't they suppose to be important?"

"Yeah, and mine is, I just am . . . stressed out over it I guess. More so now that it is closer than I realized."

"Believe me, I know what it is like to dread birthdays," she said with a shudder. "Some days are just bad."

"I should probably drop you off at Sarah's parent's house so you can get ready for the play," he admitted, looking at the time. The four girl's were staying at Sarah's parent's house while the guys had got a hotel room. "We'll pick you up at 6 so we can get dinner before the show."

"Sounds great," she said. She was surprised when he kissed her as they arrived in front of the house. He was surprised that she looked depressed afterwards even if she tried to put a smile on her face. "See you in a bit."

She walked in and found Faith and dragged her into the bathroom. "He kissed me," she said, "and I liked it!" She sat down on the side of the tub while Faith sat on the counter. "What am I going to do? I can't like him."

"Actually, honey, technically he can't like you," Faith pointed out. "Just lead him on and then dump him. That tactic seems to work pretty well." Abigail knew she was talking about past family experience.

"Maybe," she said. She laughed. "He kissed me and I saw us doing a lot more than just kissing."

"You mean. . . he is the one you will choose?" Faith asked. "What about Tyler?"

"Do you want to know if you sleep with him or if he leaves you?" Abigail asked.

"Both . . . neither," she decided. "I'll just wait till this weekend is over to decide. And I saw Reid kiss you. You looked frightened, which I think scared him," Faith told her.

"What?!" she asked horrified. "Great . . ."

"Hey, at least you know you score so something works out."

"That was so crude," Abigail muttered. They went out and changed and got ready. Right at 6 the guys showed up on their doorstep. After some awkwardness, things seemed to be back to normal with her and Reid, which made Abigail happy. They talked and flirted during dinner and they whispered together during the play.

"Caleb," Sarah whispered. "Your parents met when your father was sixteen, right?" Caleb nodded. "And what about Pogue's parents?"

"He was seventeen, she was sixteen I think," he said wondering where she was going with this.

"And Reid and Tyler's parents?"

"Reid's parents were sixteen, and Tyler's father was 17 and his mother was . . . seventeen, if I remember correctly. Why?"

"We met before your ascension, Pogue and Kate met a long time before his ascension . . . it seems like a family trait," she said allusively.

"And?"

"What if they are meant to be together? They met right before Reid's ascension in a week, and Tyler's ascension is in a few weeks," she said.

Caleb looked at his best friends. It made sense with Pogue and Kate . . . "I'll have to look in the book, but I think my grandparents met before my grandfather's ascension as well," he said.

* * *

_Author's Notes: Special thanks to BuffyandSpike-4ever, Sabina Girl, and Avidswimmer for the reviews while I was gone! And to clarify Erica's question, I don't think of it as incestuous since it has been 300 years/several generations. (I can't even say how they would be related. . . fourteenth cousins? Hmm . . .) I'm glad you are reading both stories!_


	7. Revelations

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this work. Only plot (not referring to the movie) and OC's belong to me.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Revelations**

Hannah heard the car pull up in the driveway late Sunday night as Reid and Tyler dropped Abigail and Faith back off in Cambridge. "I hope they had fun," Violet said.

"Jealous now that you have morning sickness to look forward to?" Hannah teased.

"Not jealous, more like pity," she said. "I think this is what my mother meant when she said to try to let them have as normal a life as possible." They quickly quieted as Abigail and Faith came bustling in.

"Ah, you didn't have to wait up," Faith teased. "Contrary to popular belief you are not our parental figures."

"And we could hear you in the entry way," Abigail added with a smirk.

"No, more like nosy sisters," Hannah said giddily, handing them each a cup of tea. She was only a year older than the two of them and the three of them had always been very close. "Well? Where did you go? More importantly, what do you think of Reid and Tyler now?"

Faith and Abigail took seats and completed the circle. "Wretched."

"What?" Patience asked. "Who knew laughter and smiles were signs of a bad time?"

"Wretched because I actually like him!" Abigail said. "Enough to make me depressed over . . . everything. That I can't be with him. . . you know." Faith nodded.

"Believe it or not, I do," Hannah said. "You have time. Enjoy yourself with him for a few months, and then move on. You did have a good time, though, right?"

"Fantastic!" Faith said. "We went shopping, museums– well, only us girls went to the museums," she amended with a grin, "but it was great spending so much time with them. All of them. Caleb and Pogue are so cute with Sarah and Kate."

"Completely right for each other," Abigail added.

"You saw this?" Patience asked.

"A little," Abigail admitted. "Ever since I read their palms I've been curious. I mean, they both went through something really horrible recently, but look at them! They are stronger for it. It is only going to get worse, but I can see them working through it together, still together at the end."

"What I wouldn't give for a normal life," Violet said. "And to think I brought all this on Paul," she whispered sadly.

"I chose it, honey," he reminded her.

"He isn't the first, nor the last," Patience said, sounding just as forlorn. "At least you have him!"

Hannah snorted. "Yeah, imagine sleeping with your childhood crush just so his line doesn't die out, and then find out he's a psychotic, power-mad Son of Ipswich," she said. "Anything in my future Abby?" she teased.

"Sick babies," she said. "I had a dream that Chase got sick. Nothing serious! But it is his first cold, so you will be very freaked out."

Hannah rushed out to check on her son and was halfway up the stairs before Abigail could finish her sentence. "So, you haven't slept with him then?" Patience asked sipping her wine.

Abigail winked. "Not yet," she teased. "But I will. That I saw," she said laughing. They talked for another hour before everyone went up to their separate rooms.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Abigail was changing Isabel's diaper Tuesday morning when her cell phone rang. "Hey Reid!" she said without even looking at her caller ID.

"Look outside in front of your house," he said. She walked over with Isabel and looked out the window. She saw him leaning against his car. "I thought we'd go out," he said.

She grinned. "Give me 5 minutes," she said. She laid Isabel down in the crib for her nap and then rushed to her bedroom. She stood in front of the full length mirror and changed her outfit several times trying to find one she liked. She heard Violet walk down the hall and pop her head in the door.

"Ah," Violet said laughing. "Hot date?" she teased as she watched Abigail change her outfit several times in a few seconds with the blink of an eye. "Gotta love the power at times like these."

"It will definitely make your cravings more manageable," Abigail hollered out as Violet went back down the hall. Finally picking one, she touched up her makeup and met him outside.

"I'd thought we'd do something just the two of us," he said. "Nothing against Faith and Tyler," he said as he opened her door, "but they definitely make it difficult to be alone with you." He grinned to see her blush. She decided to thoroughly enjoy the day with him and to stop worrying about the future, or lack thereof, for once in her life.

Half way back to her home he got a phone call from Caleb. "Do you mind if we stop for a minute?" he asked. "He's in town and needs to talk with me."

"No. In fact, tell him to swing by the house if he wants," Abigail offered. She got the feeling Reid was trying to avoid Caleb but he wasn't given that option. They arrived a minute later. "Come on in while you wait."

They found Tyler was already there and it was just him and Faith. "I'm going to put this away," she said, indicating her purse, and headed up to her room with Reid behind her. "Why are you avoiding Caleb?" she asked.

"Not so much avoiding him as trying to avoid the topic he is always bring up," Reid said. He looked around her room. It was bigger than he imagined the Victorian house would be, but the entire house was huge; more of a mansion than an old city house. It looked almost the size of his family house in Ipswich. She had a four poster bed made up with a brilliant blue comforter. Her desk and laptop were by the windows. He looked at the books she had on her desk and was slightly surprised to see they were Wiccan books by someone named Abigail Danvers.

Before he could ask anything Caleb pulled up with Pogue. "Hey!" Abigail said when she opened the door for them. Ever since the trip to Boston she thought Caleb was adorable (and pulling a close second behind Reid). "Come in. Want something to drink?"

"No thanks," Caleb said with his always charming grin. "Sarah is planning on going to get stuff for the dorms next week and wants you guys to come," he said.

"Great!" she laughed. "If Sarah's not careful I just might have to steal you from her," she teased and they both laughed.

"Ah, what about me," Pogue joked.

"Kate might try to kick my ass," Abigail declared and Pogue grinned. Truth was, she knew Kate was just as jealous as Pogue she just hid it better. They all were in the parlor.

"We need to talk about your birthday," Caleb said, avoiding Faith and Abigail's curious looks. "Either come by the manor tonight, Reid, or we are going to have to make . . . plans on our own," he warned. His birthday was a week away.

They heard the back door open as the other girls came in.

"It's not a big deal," Reid told them, "Contrary to what others may say," he said.

"We need to take . . . care," Caleb said.

"Ah, guys, Hannah, Violet, and Patience," Faith said. "Girls, Reid, Tyler, Pogue, and Caleb."

"And that's . . ." Abigail started when Paul walked in a minute later carrying some groceries but was cut off by all the guys.

"Mr. Carpenter?" They all said. The girls all looked at Paul in shock he knew them, and Paul looked as if he had been hit by a truck he was so surprised.

"Wait, I forgot you go to the same school Paul teaches at," Abigail said wondering why she didn't think about Paul teaching at Spencer before. "Did you have Paul's history class?"

"As I recall, Mr. _Danvers _passed with flying colors," Paul said nodding in Caleb's direction.

"Danvers?" Abigail asked and Reid worried over how pale she had become.

"You alright?" he asked quickly.

"Danvers?" she turned to Caleb. Reid noticed that all the sisters looked like a ghost had just jumped at them.

"Yeah," Caleb said.

"Sweet heavens . . ." Patience said floored.

"You are . . . are all of you Sons of Ipswich?" Faith asked. "I should have known this would happen! It always happens," she said hysterically.

"You heard of us?" Reid said.

"Get out," Abigail said. She had to keep the tears from spilling and her anger under control.

"Get out, _now_," Hannah demanded, angry at how distressed Faith and Abigail were; the realization they were the ones who killed Chase hit her immediately and she had to suppress her instinctive urges to punish them. The guys all gave her weird looks. Caleb motioned for all of them to follow him.

"This is absurd," Reid said. "Why?" he turned to Abigail.

"Go, please," she said and knew she didn't sound at all resolved. By now Hannah and Violet were both leading them out of the house. Paul was seeing if Abigail and Faith were alright, who were both sitting on the couch looking very pale.

"Get out, and stay away," Violet demanded as they all stepped out. Hannah was about to slam the door.

"Wait a minute," Reid said and tried to walk back in but when he tried to cross the threshold he felt some barrier slam into him. He thought it made his nose bleed and a second later the door slammed in front of him. Later, the other guys would insist it was from Hannah slamming the door in his face.

Violet, in her quick thinking, had reached out and caught the drops of blood in mid air before Hannah slammed the door. "Why?" Hannah asked.

"Because as much as it hurts to admit it, Abigail does care for Reid," Violet said. "And look at the guy, he's a user. Not as bad as Chase, but still bad."

"How can he be a Son?" Abigail asked. "How? This is upsurd! What are the odds?"

"I'm sorry," Paul said. "I should have realized before now. There aren't a lot of Reid's in Ipswich."

"You couldn't of known. I didn't even know his last name. I thought he told me once, but obviously not. I would have remembered if he said Garwin," she said with a sarcastic laugh.

"Just forget him," Patience said.

"Yeah, just like that," Abigail said snapping and went upstairs to her room.

"We'll tell her later," Violet decided. She made a vial appear with the blood inside it and set it aside to be used later.

Abigail locked her door and collapsed on her bed. _Idiot! _She chided herself. _Not only is it bad you had to fall for a guy, you had to fall for a bloody Son of Ipswich! The bloodline that betrayed you and left you cursed!_

No matter how she tried to convince herself, she couldn't deny the fact she fell for Reid. She pulled the covers over herself and used the solitary to cry.

When she came down later that night she saw Faith had been crying as well. "We have to know something," Violet said. "Honestly, you like Reid, I mean, really like him, don't you?"

Abigail nodded. "Then this will make a bad situation difficult," Hannah said. She was sitting next to Abigail at the corner of the table and squeezed her hand. She of all people knew how hard it would be for Abigail to watch Reid succumb into his addiction even further "His birthday next week means he is ascending."

"Great, a fully powered enemy," Abigail said. "But that isn't what's worried you."

"He uses," Hannah said. "Not as bad as Chase did, but bad enough. The question is, are we going to try to help him?"

Violet showed her the blood she had got. "It's enough for you," she said encouragingly. "You can figure something out. You have the most power out of all of us. We're here to help you with whatever you decide."

"This doesn't change the fact we can't have anything to do with them," Abigail started and looked at Faith, "but I don't want him to die because of it." She took the vial and went up to her room.

"Is she going to be alright?" Paul asked.

"She finally finds a guy who makes her believe that the curse isn't real, that he could possibly be the one to be completely whole and happy with, and then finds out he's her mortal enemy," Patience said. "It's a hard blow, but I think she'll be okay. If not, she only has to live with it for another 8 years. She can avoid him for that long, we'll make sure of it," she threatened.

"Thanks for that Patience," Faith snapped. "You don't have to remind us how much we have left on the calendar," she yelled. "We are well aware of that." She stormed off back to her own room, taking her phone of the hook and turning off her cell phone hoping Tyler would stop calling.

"Great," Violet said. "That went well."

* * *

_author notes: special thanks to evilangel, shadowwolfdagger, erica, and seethrough-existance for the reviews! I love hearing from my readers (hint-hint!!)._

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	8. Plan A

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this work. Only plot (not referring to the movie) and OC's belong to me.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Plan A**

"What do you mean they kicked you out?" Kate asked. They were all in the old Danvers' colony house.

"I'm sure something else had to happen," Sarah said. "I mean . . ." she trailed off wondering what it could have been.

"No, they just kicked us out the door," Pogue said. "Freaked out we are Sons of Ipswich and kicked us out like we were some disease."

"But why?" Sarah said. "It doesn't make any sense." She looked around. "Where's Reid?"

"Who knows," Caleb said. "Probably off using to get rid of his anger. They slammed the door in his face."

"Abigail?" Kate asked surprised. "I can't see her doing that to Reid."

"Not her, but two of her sisters," Pogue said. "One of which is dating Mr. Carpenter."

"Really?" Kate said. "He always was handsome." Pogue glared at her making her laugh.

"We'll figure this out," Sarah promised Tyler. "Maybe they'll talk to us about it. All we need is a good day of shopping, away from you guys and their sisters, and we'll find out what's happening."

"Yeah, let's go move up our shopping trip to this weekend," Kate suggested. "We'll make it an all day spree. No girl can resist."

"I hope you're right. I looked in the book but didn't see any mention of a family named Coven. Reid swears that he felt something, some sort of Power, hit him and make his nose bleed," Caleb said.

"They have The Power too?" Kate asked, her eyes widened in shock.

"If they do they aren't in any of our books."

"We'll let you know what we find out," Sarah said.

Saturday morning everyone heard a knock on the door. Faith was nearest and walked past Hope, who was in the living room watching some saturday cartoon. "Sarah?" Faith asked confused when she opened the door. "What are you doing here?" She looked around to see if they were hiding the boys.

"Shopping, remember?" she said. "We came to pick you up."

"I don't think that is such a great idea," Faith said about to close the door.

"It will be fun!" Kate said forcing her foot in the entryway. She was determined not to loose their friendship. "Pogue even gave me cash so we can go totally wild today! His treat."

They saw the hard look appear in her eye's at the mention of Pogue's name. Abigail had come downstairs and saw who was at the door. "What's going on?" she asked Faith.

"We came to go shopping," Kate said with a wide, inviting smile.

She and Faith exchanged looks. "Listen," Abigail said. "I don't want to ruin the day, but we should just get it out in the open right now. We have issues with The Sons, which I'm sure they told you already, and we won't say anymore about it. We aren't going to mysteriously open up or choke out our sob story while buying shoes or anything."

"Alright," Kate said. "We still want you to come, though," she said and wanted to laugh at the shocked looks on their faces. "Come on. It will be a girls day out. With Reid's ascension coming up the guys are all tensed and freaking out, so we need time to get away."

"Alright," Faith said. She handed Abigail her purse, grabbed her own, hollered they were leaving, and they went out to Kate's car. "What are they worried about Reid's ascension? Because he's an addict?"

"You can tell?"

"Some of his . . .odd behavior, is explained now," Faith said looking at Abigail. To their relief, they stayed in Cambridge and didn't go shopping in Ipswich.

"I hear one of your sisters is dating Mr. Carpenter," Kate said. "He is hot!"

Faith laughed. "Violet certainly thinks so," she said. "They actually just got married, and they are expecting a baby in about 6 months."

"Ah," Sarah said. "Their baby will be close to Hannah's then."

"It wasn't suppose to be that way, but . . . life throws your curve balls," Abigail said.

"Like Reid?" Sarah asked making Faith snort. "They both miss you guys. Tyler is moping, it was actually kind of cute at first but, well, now it's annoying. Reid, well, he doesn't say anything, he's just impossible to be around right now.

"Well, regardless of what we want, we can't have anything to do with them. Any of them," Abigail said. Faith nodded in agreement. Kate and Sarah spent the rest of the day trying to get information out of them, but they didn't slip or volunteer any information. Neither was looking forward to telling that to Reid and Tyler.

Later that afternoon Abigail sat in the center of her room in a circle of candles and incense. She was determined to see a vision of Reid's ascension. She clasped the vial with his blood. With a steadying breath and a chant she watched as a vision of Reid's ascension played out in her mind's eye. She saw Reid, surrounded by the others, as lightning cursed through him. The agony he was in broke her heart. She watched as he collapsed afterwards and lay so still the others around him thought he had died. He almost did, which broke her heart.

None of that compared to seeing him at the age of 24 looking three times his age. _Something has to be done,_ she thought. _He is so addicted, but then again, that curse is our fault_. _So many years of bad blood, . . . and they don't even know it,_ she thought with a snort.

She started writing notes and spells on the pad of paper in front of her. She heard a knock on the door as Patience came in. "Have you found a way?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," Abigail said with a nod. "This should work. If not, I don't know what will."

"It will work," Patience said reassuringly. "You come from the smartest and most powerful line of people with the Power. If you can't no one can," she said reassuringly. "Just tell us what you want us to do."

"The first part is really a one woman job," Abigail said. "It's during his ascension I'm going to need help." Patience gave her a hug and went to get the others to listen to Abigail's plan.

It was exactly 5 days and 12 hours until his ascension and as he walked across the courtyard to the front of his house all he could think about was the weird way Abigail and her sisters acted.

Abigail materialized behind a grouping of trees on the Garwin property and saw Reid walking towards his front door. She concentrated her power and made him fall unconscious, and then she materialized them both off the property. All in all, she had accomplished stage one in less than 5 seconds. _Not to shabby_, she thought.

They re-materialized in her bedroom in the Coven Manor house in Ipswich.(A/N: none of the Sons have been there . . . yet). She made him as comfortable as possible and settled down to wait for the next few days.

There was a knock on the door a few hours later. "Are you just going to sit here?" Patience asked. Abigail nodded, to busy concentrating to keep the steady stream of detoxification to say anything. "He needs to remain nourished. Everything a body needs and I even made it cherry flavored," she said with a laugh. "I figured with what he is going to be going through the last thing he needed was a foul tasting potion. Do you want company?"

"No, I'm good," Abigail said. "Everything else is ready, I'm just putting the finishing touches on the spell." she gestured to the yellow legal pad she was writing on.

Patience nodded. "We're here if you need us," she said. She walked out.

The only time any of the girls saw her for the next few days was when one of them would bring in more potion for her to feed to Reid. She spent the entire time in the room, keeping him unconscious as his body went through the withdrawal of not being able to use. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with him, even if he was unconscious, since she would not be able to see him any more.

"It's just as well," she said. She had ended up talking to him in his unconscious state. "Even if you weren't a Son of Ipswich, it wouldn't have worked. Believe me. For your own sake, I would have left. This is just Fate giving me a slap in the face," she said bitterly. "Not only did I actually fall for you, but I found myself wishing to be something more than me. Not just because of the curse, obviously that, but . . . to be normal and be with you. I could almost hate you for making me feel like this. I never knew hopes and dreams could be so painful," she said sadly. "I know it doesn't make sense, so let me start from the beginning." She told him the history of the Coven and Covenant, thankful he wouldn't remember any of this.

After three days she moved them back to the Garwin manor. She materialized him into his bed and then left after kissing him softly.

She arrived back in her room and decided to take a long, hot shower. Everyone was nice enough to give her her space and she was grateful for it. She let the hot water pour over her and decided to indulge in one last good cry.

She would do what she needed to save Reid during his ascension the next day, then forget him.

After all, it was for his own good.

* * *

_Special thanks to EvilAngel and ShadowWolfDagger for the lovely reviews! They totally made my day!_

* * *


	9. Power

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 7: Power **

"You guys don't have to be here," Reid said as Caleb, Pogue, Tyler, Sarah, and Kate all joined him in the renovated ballroom at Danver's Manor. _It's not like they can actually do anything when the time comes, not even Caleb with all his power._

"We aren't going anywhere man," Pogue said, placing his hand on Reid's shoulder. "I know how bad it was for me, and . . ."

"It's going to be a killer for me," Reid said sarcastically. Truth was, his ascension was in less than fifteen minutes, and already he could feel the beginning of his panic and pain. He knew it didn't do any good to wish, but he certainly wish he didn't use so much the last five years. Damn Caleb for being right, as always.

He also wanted Abigail to be there, but that also seemed like a lost cause.

"I don't know. You seem different the last few days," Sarah offered hopefully.

"You still haven't told us what happened," Kate reminded him. They told him how they had searched frantically everywhere for him, even going to the Coven house in Cambridge but they were all gone.

"I told you, I don't know. Everything went black, and I just remember being out of it. I only know I was out of it because it was majorly painful, and I occasionally would try waking up before blacking out again." He didn't add that he thought someone was with him because they would decide he was losing his mind . . .especially if he said he thought it was Abigail.

"Honesty? It sounds like you were going through withdrawal," Sarah said.

"You haven't used since then, either," Tyler said.

"I highly doubt it will make much difference now," Reid said. Less than five minutes to go . . .

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"What are you doing here? Who are you?" Evelyn Danvers demanded when she heard a knocking on the door. Everyone who knew about the ascension was already inside, and there was absolutely no reason to be knocking on the door at this hour otherwise.

Rather than answer five girls just walked past her into the house uninvited. "Well, I took that as an invitation," one said walking in. "Besides, babysitters are more expensive this late at night," she added. Evelyn stared at them in their dark capes and started walking after them as they headed down the hall towards the ballroom. Faith decided not to point out the fact Paul was watching the kids so they didn't need to hire a babysitter.

"Just _where_ do you think you are going?" she demanded. "Leave. Now."

The one in the middle stopped and turned around while the others continued walking on towards the ballroom. "You best reassure Mrs. Garwin. By the time we are done, Reid will be . . ." she paused to make eye contact and Evelyn felt completely at peace, "perfectly fine." She rejoined the others at the closed ballroom doors.

"You can change your mind," Hannah suggested.

Abigail shook her head. "Wouldn't you have done something for Chase if you had known? If you had the opportunity? . . . but maybe the capes were abit much," she said looking pointedly at Faith making the others chuckle.

"It's a fashion statement!" Faith insisted. She loved them, and she thought they all looked like they had stepped out of some Puritan novel.

They turned to face the entry into the ballroom; as the two doors swung open on their own with a vengeance they all marched in.

Everyone swirled around to them. "Who are you?" Caleb demanded. Abigail repressed a laugh and knew the others were as well. They would all definitely be laughing over this night for awhile. They continued walking towards Reid and seeing him in pain broke her heart. _Have faith!_ She chided. _This won't kill him, it will save him, _she reminded herself.

Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler had taken up defensive positions in front of Reid, their eyes already coal black as they waited. She knew there were only a few minutes left until his ascension. "Fools!" Faith chided. "Let us pass."

"Faith?" Tyler asked in surprise. Everyone heard the hopeful note in his voice.

"Who they are doesn't change the fact they are here," Pogue said. "What do you think you are doing?"

"More than you ever could," Hannah declared slipping the hood from her head revealing herself. "Do you honestly think you could help him? More importantly, inflict harm on us? Your Power is nothing compared to us, we are an _unbroken_ coven," she sneered. She flicked her wrist flinging the three guys against the wall.

"We only have 2 minutes," Abigail said. She decided not to chasticize Hannah. They were, after all, here to _save_ one of the Sons, not kill them all. They all surrounded Reid (who looked bewildered, happy, and pissed off) and moved Kate and Sarah, who had taken a protective stance next to Reid, over next to the boys (albeit more gently). The five hooded figures started chanting as they stood in a circle and a thin thread of gold started forming between them, linking the five of them in a circle with Reid in the center. Abigail was directly in front of him and as much as she didn't want to see him, see his face, the one that had caused her so much pain and hope, she knew she had to be the one to be there. _I have the closest connection to him,_ she told Patience when Patience had volunteered. She pushed all thoughts out of her head except for what was necessary for the upcoming spell. She could feel The Power coiling up, wrapping itself around her like a protective cloak starting at her feet, until she felt consumed by it.

Caleb and the others watched on shocked. As far as they knew the girls had no desire to see any of them ever again, let alone be using magic right in front of them. "Why are they doing this?" Pogue asked. "And how is it others have Power and we didn't know?" They could see the Power enveloping each of the girls; they had never seen, let alone used, the Power like this.

"Contrary to whatever she says, Abigail does care for Reid," Sarah said. "And you," she said turning to Caleb. They watched as the chanting began to grow louder and their voices changed from a harmonized chorus to deep, dark voices that rumbled in the dark.

The showed it was a little after two in the morning and everyone watched as the ascension began. They could see Reid withering from the coils of power that started to attach themselves to his spectre, fighting for control. Their circle around him kept the repercussions of his ascension to a minimum and allowed the Power to enter Reid, but kept Reid's soul in his own body.

Abigail felt The Power pulse through her and the other girls. She focused solely on Reid and the pain he was in tore her heart. She reached out to him and knew that as his ascension was ending she could send him some relief through her powers. _Just keep this connection with him long enough_, she told herself. Every second longer created more of a burden and she was thankful she had the other four there to give her a hand as she felt all their energy being tested to it's limits (of which they had considerably stretched throughout the years). She could practically feel their power as a protective hand on her shoulders.

_Hold on Reid,_ she thought and he looked right into her eyes, coal eyes meeting snow-white ones. The ascension had just ended and he was trying to catch his breath. None of them broke the circle, trying to give him as long as they could possibly hold together to help Abigail help him.

Violet was the first to break, which no one could fault her as she was pregnant. No one wanted harm to come to the next generation. One by one they all broke the chain. Abigail walked to Reid and cradled his head. "You'll be fine," she whispered wearily and, like the other four girls, disappeared in a swirl of white smoke.

"Reid," Tyler said rushing up. He helped him to a sitting position. "You alright?"

"Of course," he said catching his breath. "Especially considering you all thought I would be dead right about now."

"You probably should be. Your mom is going to be so relieved," Sarah said.

"What was that about?" Pogue finally asked.

"I don't know," Caleb said. "Tomorrow, when we are all rested, let's read the book again. They have to be in there if they are from Ispwich or anywhere near here."

"They certainly know about the Sons of Ipswich," Kate reminded them. "I just hope they are okay."

The others looked startled like the thought hadn't occurred to them. "I'm sure they'll be fine. They wouldn't have if they would have been hurt," Pogue said trying to reassure her.

"I'll see you tomorrow– I mean, later today," Kate said with a grin since it was almost 2:30 in the morning. "Feel better, Reid. You want a ride Sarah?" Sarah nodded and they walked out after saying goodbye to Caleb and Pogue.

"You aren't going straight back home, what's your plan?" Sarah asked.

"I want to make sure they are alright. I trust Pogue's judgement, but something about them have me nervous," Kate said.

"Nervous like don't trust them?" Sarah asked

She shook her head. "No, like nervous because they haven't told us anything and I am worried _for _them," she said. "I don't know why, especially after seeing the kind of power they can do, but I am afraid for them."

"That makes two of us," Sarah said as she looked out the passenger window. "Did you see their eyes?" she said. "You know how the guys' go completely black, right?"

Kate nodded. "I know, and I saw their's. Completely white with a flash of gold when they used," she said. "So similar, yet so different."

They pulled up in front of the old brick mansion in Cambridge. "I feel weird now," Sarah said. Kate just gave her a grin and walked up the steps. She knocked on the door and Paul came down.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is Reid alright?"

"Yeah, he is. We came to see if they are alright," Kate explained as Paul opened the door.

"They are passed out but fine," he said. "I'm only up because I heard Chase crying for his bottle and came down to feed him before he woke up Isabel."

"Ah," Kate and Sarah said together. "It's great how you all help out. It's so . . . communal," Kate said. "And here he is!" she said taking Chase.

"I only knew one other Chase," Sarah said. "The one from school. Not a happy story, so don't ask," she said quickly.

Paul choked back a laugh. "I won't. I know what I need to know," he said. He took Chase back to burp him. "It's already after 3," he said. "If you don't feel like driving back you can stay here," he offered. "There are plenty of guest rooms."

"Really?" they both said. "Great." Still carrying Chase, who was slowly going back to sleep, Paul led them to a room in the back on the first floor. "The bathroom is down the hall on the left," he said. "If you need anything, I'll probably be up before any of the other girls. They looked exhausted."

"Thanks Mr. Carpenter."

"Paul," he said with a laugh and walked Chase back up to the nursery.

"Okay, he's sweet, but creeps me out as well," Kate said. "He knows more than he is letting on."

"Maybe they will at least tell us why they helped in the morning," Sarah thought. They found old clothes in the dresser and changed out of their party dresses. Exhausted after a long, and stressful day, they collapsed on the two beds and fell asleep.

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_author's notes: special thanks to EvilAngel and ShadowWolfDagger. Your reviews mean so much!!_


	10. The Name Game

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

_Recap: Reid's ascension arrived, and the Daughters (after having found out they were all The Sons) help Reid to make sure he survived his ascension._

**Chapter 8: The Name Game**

"Well, I'm glad you are all okay," Paul said as all the girls except Abigail came trudging down in the late morning. He gave them all coffee and a ton of breakfast. He was feeding the twins as Sarah and Kate finished breakfast.

Violet kissed his cheek. "You always know what we need," she said happily scarfing down enough for five. With all the power usage the night before they were majorly famished.

"Thanks for looking after Chase and Isabel," Hannah said.

"My pleasure. It's good practice, although I'm glad we are only having one," he said grinning. "How's Abigail?"

"Exhausted. She Used the most last night, but she was determined to make it as comfortable as possible for him," Faith explained as she piled food on her plate. "You came by last night," Faith said sizing them up. None of them were sure what to make of Sarah and Kate. Were they friends, or spies for the Sons?

"We were worried about you," Sarah said. "Are you alright?"

"We are. Abigail is still sleeping, but she'll be down . . .," Patience said with a smile as they heard Abigail coming down the stairs right then.

"I'm starved," Abigail said as she plopped into her seat. She started piling the food onto her plate, enough to rival Violets.

"You look pale," Patience said motherly as Hope came toddling in.

"You're up mommy!" She said happily climbing on her lap. "Uncle Paul said you were tired. I got to help play with Isabel and Chase!"

"Now aren't you a big girl," Patience said laughing. "You are always going to be there for them aren't you honey?"

"Always mommy! Just like you!"

"And Isabel and Chase and Violet's baby are going to love you for it," Faith said squeezing Hope's little hand, "just like we do your mommy!"

"Mommy and I are special!" Hope declared solemnly.

"Very. You are very blessed," Abigail said with a smile. To Kate and Sarah, who exchanged looks, it looked very strained, and they thought all the girls (and Paul) looked extremely sad.

"Can we talk about last night?" Kate asked. No reason to beat around the bush in her opinion.

"Had a feeling you were going to ask about it," Hannah said with a chuckle as she took a drink of her orange juice.

"Aren't you going to wait and see what The Sons find out from their book?" Hannah asked.

"Why do you always call them The Sons?" Kate asked. Then she realized they knew about their book.

"That's what they are. Even you call them that," Faith said. "And believe me, we have _plenty _of other names for them, too," she grumbled, stabbing her eggs.

"How do you know, though?" Sarah asked.

"We've been in Ipswich just as long as The Sons," Patience said. "We know them intimately, they just don't know about us. In fact, I'm quite curious what _their_ book says about us," she said with a grin.

"Ooh, that would be interesting," Violet said bitterly. "I highly doubt it's accurate," she spat out the last word.

"Come on," Paul said leading her away from the table. "Don't want to upset the baby."

"I'm sorry," Sarah said. "We don't mean to upset."

"Suffice it to say we are just happy we could help Reid, but it ends there," Patience declared. "Talk to them about what they find out in the book, then we'll probably have to clarify it," she said with a laugh.

Feeling like they would be hexed if they stayed longer Kate and Sarah said goodbye and headed to the old Danvers Farm where the archives were. "Well?" Sarah asked as the boys greeted them.

"Nothing. There is nothing about anyone named Coven in the book," Caleb said.

"That's impossible," Kate said. "They said they have been in Ipswich as long as The Sons."

"You talked to them?" Pogue asked surprised.

"Yup. Basically helping Reid was a one time deal and they don't want to have anything to do with you still."

"I refuse to believe that," Reid said crossing his arms.

"Let me look," Sarah said. "Maybe someone reading the book with fresh eyes will help." Caleb let her join him in front of the book.

"The only thing it says is to beware lying members claiming Coven," Tyler said.

"What is this about a deceiving Coven?" Sarah asked pointing.

"I don't know. It just says some people came claiming to be relatives of our families, but it was impossible," Caleb said.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked. "How do you know one of your ancestors didn't have some illicit affair?"

"We only have one son. It would be impossible to have another child," Pogue said, "So therefore no other relatives."

"But it says here that they came to your ancestors claiming to be their sisters child," Sarah read.

"Their sisters were all killed in the witch trials," Tyler said. "Childless. It was just random people trying to get a hold of power and money."

"We have to at least know how they have The Power," Caleb said. "They have to tell us at least that much."

"So lets go," Reid said jumping to his feet needing to do _something_.

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Abigail sighed. She had seen them coming before they had even made the decision themselves. "We can kick them out again," Hannah suggested. She was always ready for a good fight.

"I think once we drop the bombshell, they will leave of their own accord," Violet pointed out.

"Well, I am at least going to enjoy the show," Hannah said with a grin. Caleb knocked on the door and Abigail, who was closest, opened it.

"Can we talk?" he asked kindly.

"You want to know how we have The Power," Abigail said pointedly.

"Among other things," Reid declared.

"Here's the truth. I've lied to you this entire time, Reid. We all have, including Faith," she told Tyler.

"What do you mean? Lied about what?" Tyler asked. For someone as honest as him (and as honest as he thought Faith was) he didn't understand.

"My name is not Abigail Coven. In fact, Coven is not our real name, but one we have adopted so people will think we are related. Truth is, we are not sisters, not biologically," Abigail said.

The guys looked like they had just sprouted another head that was speaking Martian. It would get a lot weirder for them before they were through.

"So are you running for the cops? Got caught using the Power?" Pogue asked.

Abigail smirked. "Nothing of the sort. _We_ have always been responsible with The Power," she said. "If you want the truth, then here are our real names," she said and started pointing to everyone. "Hannah Putnam, Patience Simms, Violet Parry, Faith Garwin, and I am Abigail Danvers," she said. With their shocked expression she closed the door again.

"Well, it went well," Patience said; she looked at all of them, "Well, I think this calls for some ice cream."

"Are we taking bets to see how long it takes before they come back demanding more answers?" Violet asked. "Abigail can't participate," she teased.

"Ha-ha. Caleb is going to tell them they have to figure this out, they will look through their bloody book again, listen to suggestions from Kate and Sarah, and be back on our doorstep in . . ." she glanced at the clock, "5 hours, 37 minutes," Abigail finished, filling her bowl with chocolate ice cream, chocolate syrup, and mini M&M's. "The real question is, will telling them make a difference? What can bringing them _back_ into this achieve?" she asked waving her spoon around as she talked.

"You can't see that?" Faith asked. Abigail shook her head.

"Well, we can honestly say that we have tried everything else over the generations," Patience said. "I don't think anyone has tried this before, working with The Sons. Besides, I think it's about time The Sons of Ipswich remember what they did," she said darkly.

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Author's Notes: _Special thanks to **ShadowWolfDagger, Evil Angel, **and **Angelnessa** for their fantastic reviewes!! _


	11. Family Ties

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

Author's Notes: an extra long chapter for everyone! I couldn't find a better place to cut it off.

**Chapter 9: Family Ties**

5 hours and 37 minutes later, just as Abigail foresaw, the Sons (plus Kate and Sarah) were back at the Coven house. They saw a note on the door saying to go to a house in Ipswich. With a lot of muttering and mumbling they returned to their cars and drove back to Ipswich to the Coven Manor House.

They arrived at a Manor house to rival Caleb's. It's huge expanse seemed more welcoming than their own homes, but at the moment they didn't notice. Paul opened the large front door. "Right on time," he said grinning. "Now, I have to warn you, keep the anger and Using down. Whatever you think you might achieve after you hear what they have to say, it won't do any good. And Hannah is just looking for someone to provoke a fight," he added.

"Would you like anything?" Patience asked as they walked inside.

"No, thank you," Sarah said. "I never realized this was your house before. I've driven past it before. It's gorgeous."

"It's been in our coven for generations," Patience said happily. She had grabbed a tray full of sodas regardless knowing this would be a long conversation. "Everyone is in the parlor."

Abigail and Faith sat on one sofa while Violet and Paul sat on another loveseat. Hannah had taken a chair in front of the fireplace and Patience took the one adjacent to it. The Covenant took seats that were left.

"What the hell is going on?" Reid asked making Caleb and Sarah roll their eyes.

"You honestly have no idea who we are?" Violet asked. They shook their heads. "Your books and history lessons are seriously lacking. We've already told you who we are."

"How can you be related to us?" Caleb asked. "The Covenant men only have one son each, there hasn't been a female born from any of our families in the 300 year history of our Covenant," he stated logically.

"Your book says nothing about The Betrayal?" Hannah asked.

By the weird looks they were getting they assumed the answer was no. "So there is no mention of your ancestors' sisters?" Faith said looking at Tyler.

"Only saying they were killed during the Witch Trials," Tyler said.

"Which doesn't make sense since they could have Used to get themselves to safety," Pogue added.

The girls nodded to Abigail to tell the story since she was the most intimate with the history. "For various reasons, they were unable to Use and were killed. The act of betrayal by their brothers, _all_ of _our _ancestors, had left them powerless in a sense."

"Betrayal?" Caleb asked. "There is no mention of betrayal."

Abigail laughed. "Do you honestly think would call it The Betrayal? Betrayers never see their actions as evil, and even if they did, they would hardly flaunt it."

"What happened?" Reid asked Abigail evidently concerned.

"Our families were thought of as The Families of The Power," Abigail began. "For generations they had been friends, first in Europe and then they migrated over to the New World together. During the witch trials, the sisters were accused, found guilty, and killed as witches. While they were being plagued by the townspeople and tried, they obviously turned to their families to help them. The power is stronger when people are unified behind it– you have forgotten much through the generations. Their brothers all turned a deaf ear to their pleadings. Their own concerns were more important. John Putnam was worried about the fact that his wife had died before bearing him a son. James Simms was worried over business transactions going bad in France with the war going on, etc etc. They all chose The Power over their own blood, and that year each of their sisters were killed."

"They chose Power over Blood, a betrayal that had repercussions on both sides," Faith explained.

"That can't be right," Caleb said defensively.

"They weren't all as good and nice as you, Caleb," Abigail said gently.

"How did they die?" Kate asked curiously.

"Their ancestors," Faith said pointing to Violet, Patience, and Hannah, "were drowned for the 'baptism of their souls.' Abigail and I, our ancestors were burned, the only way to cleanse the devils from our souls."

"The book does say they were killed, but also that you died off," Caleb said. "How . . ."

"They each had a child right before they were killed," Abigail said. "Patience's ancestor, Remembrance, was the school teacher and a spinster. She was the first to be killed and the oldest when she died, she was 38. She had had an affair with one of the local elites, his wife found out, accused her. She had a daughter by him and the wife wanted the child killed as well; her daughter was about a year when Remembrance was killed, but everyone found a dead baby right after her death and thought the devil had taken back his own," she said. "Violet's ancestor was the second oldest at 35. She was happily wed, but the jealousy over her and her family led to the accusations. She had a daughter as well. She was tried a few months after Patience's ancestor. Her husband came to her defense. He even tried to jump in the water to save her, and for his actions was killed. He was crushed to death," Abigail said and they saw Violet squeeze Paul's hand.

"And her daughter?" Kate asked.

"Taken in by Hannah's ancestor who was 30, but she was brought to trial a few month's after Violet's death. She was also happily married with a daughter. Her husband also tried to save her but the townspeople shot him."

"Lucky bastard," Hannah said sipping her soda. "Nice and clean."

"Anyways. Faith's ancestor was 27. She thought she was in love and they were engaged, but he broke it off and left her for some other woman. She had a daughter by him and the wife wanted the child killed as well, but she had been sent off with the other girls into hiding. They burned her at the stake. In her rage she almost burnt the entire town down before the fire burned her to the point she had no control over herself anymore," Abigail said.

"And Charlotte Danvers?" Caleb asked.

"She was just recently widowed," Abigail said. "She was 26. She knew they were coming for her, she was the last one of the Five families. She placed a protection around her house to keep anyone off until the birth of her child. She had just given birth and saw the townspeople were coming for her. She sent her baby off with her trusted maid to be taken to the other four babies. They came and they could take her since the charm had worn off and burned her at the stake thinking they were also killing her baby."

"All that because they didn't help their own sisters," Sarah said both sad and appalled.

"It gets worse," Hannah said with a snort.

"Things involving the power usually do," Reid said.

"When the girls were dying, in their . . . intense anger doesn't even begin to cover how they were feeling. They were so outraged about being betrayed by their own brothers they used their dying breath for one last bit of Power. They each cursed their brother and all who would follow him."

"What?" Pogue asked.

"Does the curse exist today?" Caleb asked.

"Yes. Unfortunately they didn't see that there would be repercussions on both sides," Hannah said.

"What did they do?" Pogue demanded.

"They each cursed the male line, basically, since they chose power over blood that the power would become their blood, that the power would become their lifeline and that what they loved so dearly would be what betrayed them. They thought it would be perfect irony," Abigail said with what could only be described as a witchy grin. She understood the irony of everything better than anyone else in the room.

The guys all jumped up angry. "You mean that the entire reason we age . . . why it drains our life, is because they cursed us? Our own ancestors?" Pogue demanded.

"We are addicted and dying because of this?" Reid asked. The girls nodded. After much grumbling they stormed out.

"Well, that went well," Paul said with a smirk.

"You fit in so well here, Paul," Hannah said laughing. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one who enjoyed it."

"We tell them _our _sob story, and they walk out _pissed_ at **us** because of it! _We_ didn't curse them!" Faith said.

"They are the ones who feel betrayed now," Patience said quietly. "Irony seems to run deep in this messed up family."

"Irony runs deeper than blood. . . Or should it be thicker than blood?" Violet said, making everyone grin at her attempt at being poetic.

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"This is absurd," Pogue said. "First, we find out the fifth line didn't die out like we thought because psychotic Chase showed up, then we find out there is an entire other section of our families we didn't know about that have been the cause for this cursed life!"

"Can I point something out?" Sarah asked tentatively. She waited till the guys had all calmed down. "I know it is surprising. I didn't think it could get any crazier, but didn't you hear Abigail explain?"

"That is the problem," Pogue snapped.

Sarah glared at him. "You obviously didn't listen closely. Besides, how do you think they feel? They have known their entire lives and have been raised to believe that the Sons of Ipswich are nothing but betrayers. No wonder they were shocked." She tucked the hair behind her ear. "My point, though, was that you didn't hear them completely. Hannah and Faith said there were repercussions on _both_ sides."

"They cursed us," Reid said. "What could have happened to them?"

"_That_ is what we need to find out," Kate decided. She turned and walked back up the steps knowing at least Reid, Tyler, Caleb, and Sarah were behind her. She knew Pogue needed another minute and sure enough, he finally joined them.

"Abigail must be off, she didn't say you would be returning," Violet said opening the door. "Can I ask why?"

"We have another question," Kate said.

"Only one?" Violet asked surprised. She led them back into the parlor.

"Sarah pointed out that there were repercussions on both sides," Reid said not waiting for everyone to take seats again. "What happened to you?"

The girls looked at each other. "The betrayal severed the ties between our lines," Faith said. "You would only have one son with the power, we would only have one daughter. And the curse affected you like you already know."

"But, between the betrayal and the act of the curse, which was petty and used an incredible amount of vengeance and power, it has cursed us as well," Abigail said.

"So it had a side affect?" Tyler said confused.

"Yes." There was a pause as they waited for someone to continue. "Each generation is forced to the same fate," Abigail finally said. "We each die on the same day at the same age as our ancestors."

Sarah and Kate sat down in shock. "What!" Reid demanded.

"It means, that on November 12 when I am 26 I will die, just like my mother, like her mother, like we all have since Charlotte," Abigail said. "That's why I was going to sleep with you, but then things got out of hand," she admitted.

"You were going to sleep with me," Reid said with a cocky grin.

"Only to get pregnant. It was suppose to be a casual fling, and look! You are a bloody Son, and . . ." she trailed off. _Now_ was _not_ the time to say she had fallen for him.

"You are only 18!" Sarah said.

"Yes, and I will die in a little over 8 years," Abigail said. "Faith has almost 9. That is why we were starting to look for someone so that we could continue on our lines. We are running out of time."

"8 years?" Caleb and Reid said at the same time. Tyler just looked at Faith horrified.

"And you have done nothing to change this?!" Reid demanded making Abigail roll her eyes.

"Nothing!" Hannah said jumping to her feet her eyes flaring white, electricity cackling around her. "Nothing? We have been trying for almost 300 years to change it. We have tried everything imaginable, and even things that are not normally in the realm of imagination, and everything has failed. We still die, we still have babies, we still follow this ridiculous time table long before you even saw us," she said angrily.

Abigail stood and motioned for them to follow her. "It isn't just us. Anyone who joins us is destined to follow this pattern. With the Putnam and Pogue lines usually the father of the children stay around– like I said, their ancestors were happily married– but they too die on the same day as the women just as they did 300 years ago."

Sarah turned to Paul horrified, remembering Violet's ancestor's husband was crushed to death. "You are going to die?" she asked.

"In a little over 10 years," he said

"You knew this? You knew ahead of time?" Kate asked.

"We wouldn't lie to him," Violet said offended. "I'd rather he leave and live."

"It was my choice, and I made it," he said. "As you will soon see, I am not the first, nor will I probably be the last."

"What about Hannah? Why didn't he stay?" Sarah asked, but looked sorry she asked.

"He already died," Hannah said sadly. "You killed him."

"We?" Kate asked. "But . . ."

"Oh G...," Sarah said. "You mean–"

"Chase," she said without looking at her.

"You slept with Chase?" Pogue asked bewildered.

"I'm not asking for your blessing," Hannah said icily.

"Where are we?" Caleb asked changing the subject as they entered a large room with floor to ceiling bookcases and bay windows that gave the room a light, cheery feel.

"This is our library. The history of the Coven," Abigail said. "We have always banded together. Patience and her ancestors usually end up raising the rest of us since she is older and all our mothers die when we are young. This is where we keep all our records," Abigail opened the doors to an extremely large library. Ceiling to floor bookshelves covered two and half walls filled with volumes of books. The other half of the third wall had five very large scrolls fastened. Abigail unraveled the one named Putnam. "See, it shows everything from the original betrayal to present day," she said and pointed to where it said Hannah Putnam with a line to Chase Putnam-Goodwin-Pope who had two children– Chase and Isabel Putnam.

"They are the first in 300 years to have anything other than a single daughter," Patience said.

"Why?" was all Caleb could think to ask.

"We discovered Chase was a Son, and I had, um, we knew he was going to die. We couldn't let the line die out. Hannah decided to let him be the father of their children."

"It wasn't a sacrifice," Hannah said dryly. "Contrary to what you know about him, he wasn't always corrupted. The Power has a way of doing that to you men. Part of the curse," she said.

"Great," Pogue muttered.

"What this?" Reid asked as he walked around the room. There was the largest book he had ever seen in his life sitting on a podium.

"We fondly call it the Giant Book of Failed Attempts," Patience said with a grin. "It records all of our attempts throughout the generations of trying to break the curse. Basically, it is our Book of Damnation."

"It tells how we continue to die on our pre-determined day regardless of all of our crazy attempts," Violet said.

"Some make for some interesting stories though," Faith laughed.

"Like my Grandma Scincella?" Abigail said laughing.

"How can you be okay with this?" Reid asked Abigail.

"I've known my entire life before it happens. I've known for 18 years that I am going to be burned." She saw his horrified look. "Yes, burned. We die in someway similar to our ancestors."

"This has been such a weird day," Pogue said as Kate sat on his lap.

Caleb pulled Abigail into a hug, much to her surprise and Reid's dislike. "I'm sorry. I can't even imagine what it would be like to know how you will die, and when, your entire life."

"It is our lot, just like if you use to much it will kill you," Abigail said returning the hug. "None of us chose this."

"Now what?" Pogue asked. "I mean . . . well, I am assuming that the other three," he said gesturing to Tyler, Reid, and Caleb, "are going to want to help as well."

"Help?" Hannah asked surprised. She seemed genuinely surprised by the idea.

"Of course help," Caleb said. "You didn't think you would tell us and we would just walk out and turn our backs did you?"

"Um, yeah," Violet said grinning. "You don't have a very good track record with us."

"That was then," Reid said. "Now you have 6 more people helping."

"Abby?" Patience asked.

"I've got nothing," she said as she trailed her fingers over their Book of Damnation, looking as if she was trying to remember something when it was the exact opposite. "I mean, it can't hurt. Like you said, we've tried everything else."

"What happened to your grandmother Scincella?" Reid asked.

"Oh. She tried the tactic of not staying in one place during the day. She materialized in a different place all day every few seconds. She paused for about 30 seconds in one spot and was electrocuted by lightning."

"What?" they asked horrified.

"We all have plenty of stories," Patience said. "My great grandmother jumped off a bridge the day before her death day hoping to change something by just one day, nothing but a few scrapes. Next day she slips after getting out of the tub and cracks her head and drowns."

"I get the feeling you got the worse end of the deal," Reid said walking up to Abigail.

"Yeah, we have refrained from further curses," she said with a grin.

"How do we do this?" Tyler asked.

"Nothing tonight," Faith said. "It's just so . . . weird, now, that you know," she admitted avoiding Tyler's gaze.

"That's an understatement," Hannah said. "I'm going to check on Chase and Isabel and go to bed," she decided.

They saw them cringe at the mention of Chase. "He wasn't always psychotic," Faith said.

"How would you know?" Pogue asked. "He practically killed all of us."

"Chase and his mother lived in Cambridge. Our mothers took her in for awhile, I think secretly hoping that she would be around after they all died and she could help me raise all of them," she said referring to the Coven girls. "Hannah and Chase were close. We didn't know he was a son, but we should have guessed," Patience said. "Your mother said he would be key to our future," she told Abigail.

"He grew up with us. He was the same age as Abigail and I, and he and Hannah got along like 2 peas in a pod. Hannah had a huge crush on him," Faith said smiling as she remembered. "Childhood love."

"His mother died when he was with us, and he was adopted and they moved," Violet added. "We lost track of him after that."

"Till we found out who he was and he was going to die. Hannah met up with him at a party during the summer before he transferred to your school. They hit it off again after 7 years like it hadn't been but a week," Patience said.

"You said something once that Hannah's babies were early?" Sarah asked.

"We try to time when we have our children, at what age," Abigail explained. "Hannah should have waited another couple of years, normally she would have had them about the same time as Violet, but she was determined to save Chase's line, so she went for it now."

"So that's why you were looking to sleep with me and Tyler?" Reid asked.

Abigail nodded, embarrassed since _everyone_ was there. "Our inheritance– that's what we call the ascension– is different. We get our powers when we are 5, full powers when we are 7. I want to be alive when my daughter comes into her inheritance, so I have to get pregnant soon."

"This is officially the weirdest conversation I have ever had in my life," Reid said shaking his head.

"This is exactly why you can only help if you agree to be nothing more than friends," Abigail told him, her demeanor completely serious.

"What?" he asked even more bewildered.

"There is nothing between us, Reid. I would have broken it off in a bit anyways, but this discovery of who you are just sped the process up," she said surprised at how calm she was. She couldn't believe lying was this easy. "So, sorry," she said and walked out of the library up to her room. She was surprised by how calm she was walking out and managed to make it to the stair case before her emotions took over.

"What happened?" Hannah asked coming down to the foot of the staircase. She wrapped Abigail in a hug. "What's wrong?"

"I just made Reid hate me," she said. "I hate this."

"Ah, I know," Hannah said. "Every time I look at Chase, Isabel too, I see Chase. I know things went bad with him, and I find I hate myself for it. If only we had found a way to fix all this," she whispered. "We could find a way to save us, release them from the curse," she said. She wiped a tear away off Abigail's cheek. "Maybe it will work now with their help," she said. "If not, we'll go boy shopping," she teased trying to make Abigail laugh but it didn't work.

"I just want to sleep," Abigail said. "I wish I was Faith or Patience," she said. "Not have to worry about a man, just be alone."

"Me too," Hannah whispered. She walked up the stairs with her till they got to her room. "As hard as it is now," she said, "it would be much harder if you let him in your life. Just remember that." Abigail nodded and went in her room.

Hannah went back to the baby room. She loved watching Chase and Isabel sleep, she saw Chase in his son and daughter, and was happy she at least had that in her life. She thought she felt a presence behind her but when she looked she didn't see anything. _Creepy, I know someone was there,_ she thought. She had felt it before, and had figured it was Chase once she knew he was a Son, but he was dead now. Tucking them in to reassure herself, she quietly left the nursery knowing she would be back in a few hours for a feeding.

"He is taking this too well," Kate told Pogue as they walked back to their cars. Reid had disappeared for a moment after Abigail left, but returned a few minutes later. Whatever happened made him seem to calm after everything that just happened.

"He's to stubborn to just accept it," Pogue said. "I asked my mom, like you wanted," he told Caleb. "My grandfather met my grandmother when he was seventeen, his father met his wife when he was sixteen. Why?"

"What about you?" he asked Tyler and Reid.

"They were both seventeen," Reid said, while Tyler said "My parents were sixteen and fifteen."

"Sarah had an idea," he said nodding to Sarah letting her explain it.

"It seems the Ipswich families like to follow tradition," she said thinking back on everything they had just heard. "I don't know why, I had this idea back in Boston before we

heard all this," she started. "It seems like the Covenant men always meet their future wives and the mothers of the future Covenant sons, before their ascension," she said. "Me, Kate, your mothers, grandmothers, they all met before the ascension happened."

"And we met Abigail and Faith before Reid and Tyler's ascension," Kate said excitedly. "Fate is kind sometimes at least."

"And I guess Chase met Hannah before his ascension as well," Sarah pointed out.

"But they refuse to be involved with us," Tyler pointed out.

"Faith didn't," Kate pointed out. "Just Abigail, and Reid is to stubborn to let her stay away from him. Faith seems more . . . skittish," she decided.

"Well, right now, we just have to concentrate on helping them," Caleb said.

"How?" Pogue asked. "Don't get me wrong, I want to. Heck, I volunteered all of us. I just have no idea how, nor do I have any idea on how we would know if we succeeded."

"We'll figure it out as we go," Caleb said.

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author's note: another twist! Hopefully one everyone enjoyed. Review and let me know : )

**avidswimmer** drama is always fun: ) **susangel** What was your suspicion? I'm curious. Hopefully my twist is unexpected : ) **shadowwolfdagger** thanks alex! **evilangel** he-he, I thought it would be interesting. They don't normally use them, the girls normally go by the name Coven, but they do keep passing them down.


	12. Birthday Bash

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 10: Birthday Bash **

_"Damn them all to hell and further," she muttered as she held Lavender, Rosemary's daughter. Lavender woke up fussy. She hadn't been sleeping well since her mother's death, a fact that she shared with the rest of the children._

_And herself, if Eleanor was going to be honest with herself. "We should leave," a voice said from the chair by the fireplace. _

_Eleanor turned to her husband. "This is our _home_," Eleanor_ _said forcefully. "I won't let them bully me out of my own house. Peter will help. He has to."_

_"And how did your families help when they killed Remembrance and Rosemary?" Peter demanded. "I won't let them take you, too, Eleanor. We should take the kids– all of them– and leave. We will even take Hope and her baby if you wish it. And Charlotte, if she can travel this far along in her pregnancy."_

_"Let them charge us out of our own home like we are some criminal? What have I ever done to these people, Peter?" she sobbed. Peter walked over and held her close, careful not to harm Lavender who had just fallen back to sleep. _

_"Eleanor, you didn't have to do anything. They are out for blood, and I don't know what to do to stop them."_

Abigail woke up with a start, her sweat making her night shirt cling to her body. She rolled over and saw the light from her clock telling her it was 3:47 am. She curled up on her side and couldn't stop the tears from falling; the pain and despair Eleanor had felt at losing Remembrance and Rosemary clutched her heart, and Peter's worry for her safety made her heart break.

She buried her head in her pillow, hoping to muffle the sounds of her sobbing so she didn't wake anyone up. She grabbed her phone to call Reid, but stopped herself right before dialing. She didn't know how to explain she saw visions, nor of what she experienced. Plus, calling him would only make him think she liked him. The fact it was the truth made her throw her phone across the room. _I can't bring him into this,_ Abigail thought. Try as she might, she couldn't fall asleep again without the vision returning.

_"Eleanor!" Peter yelled, pushing his way through the crowd trying to reach her before they put her in the river. He punched the butcher who was trying to hold him back, the fury at seeing his wife bound like a common criminal, like an animal, gave him added strength. "Eleanor!!!" He yelled, hoping she could hear him, see him, know he was coming. "NO!" he screamed as he watched a group of the men toss her in. _

_He was almost to the riverbank when someone finished loading their rifle. He didn't feel the pain of the bullet as it crushed his heart; his heart had died the minute they took Eleanor from the cabin._

_Hope and Charlotte, who were at Charlotte Danver's house, heard the pop, instinctively knowing that another of them had fallen. Hope clutched her precious baby closer to her breast, instinctively knowing the village wasn't satisfied yet. _

_Charlotte put a hand over the round of her belly. "Where was Peter?" she whispered. "Why didn't he come? He knew!" she said furiously. "First Charles, then Daniel, and now Peter? Why have they forsaken us?" Worry about her own brother, Nathaniel, and his impromptu decision to take a business trip began to worry her._

_"We will protect each other," Hope said fervently. She didn't mention that her own brother's reaction to the mess was a long talk about not disclosing their powers in public. The lack of concern, his callous attitude, made her clench her hand into a fist and want to hit something._

_"I just buried Henry," Charlotte sobbed, sitting on her stoop. "Now I have to bury two more loved ones. When will this end?"_

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She didn't know why her visions were kicking into overdrive. She started having them more frequently when she first met Reid, and now she realized that it had to have something to do with being around so much of The Power. She carefully avoided all of The Sons for the next couple of days– partly to avoid Reid, and partly to give her system a rest from the sensory overload she was experiencing.

Three days after the discussion with The Sons, Abigail woke up to her cell ringing. Knowing it was Reid again she just Used to turn it off. _Didn't I do that once?_ She wondered sleepily. Ten minutes later her cell phone rang again. "For the love of!" she muttered. Her first instinct was to throw it across the room or out the window. Instead, she just materialized it into the kitchen and tried to get back to sleep, happy she had one night of uninterrupted sleep.

Patience watched as it appeared out of thin air. "Hope, honey, you want to talk to Reid?" she asked with a grin. She let the toddler talk eagerly on the phone. "Hello, Abby's phone," she said like a big girl.

"Looky mommy!" She said happily a few minutes later. "I told Reid how I wanted another pretty stone to add to my collection! He asked what Abigail's favorite color was and it just appeared!" she said holding out the green-blue polished stone.

"Hmm, I see," Patience said raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going to name it Abby and put it with the others," She said toddling off. _Well, you have one person rooting for you, Reid,_ Patience thought as Faith walked in looking irritated and in desperate need of a cup of coffee.

"Can I put my phone through the blender?" she asked.

"Tyler? How do you know they don't just want to talk about the curse?" Patience asked. "And no, no blender. I'm not buying a new blender or cell phone. Why don't you give him a chance? He doesn't seem like the type to abandon you."

"Until this curse is broken you know something will happen to make him leave me or hurt me. I'm not taking any chances," Faith said stubbornly. Patience nodded in understanding.

Two days later Abigail and Faith were ready to smash their cells in an attempt to keep Tyler and Reid from calling. "At least Hope isn't tired of talking to them," Faith muttered.

They were all eating dinner when Abigail's phone rang again. To their surprise she answered. "Hi Caleb! . . . yes, so long as we can bring Hope and the twins,. . . great! 'Kay, talk to you later," she said and hung up. "Tyler's ascension is next week and we are invited to their party."

"A party!" Hannah said happily. "I forgot. It's the end of June already. The term starts in just a little over a month," she commented.

"I've been going through the family diaries again," Patience said. "My great great grandmother wrote that the Danvers of their generation made a prediction of the curses being lifted."

"I'll look through my diaries and the prophecy book. Maybe we'll have something different to try," Abigail said. "Plus it will give us something to do before we go to school," she said indicating Hannah and Faith.

"In the meantime we'll go shopping," Violet said. "I want to get some stuff for the nursery and something for Tyler. What do you get an 18 year old male?" she asked Paul. They talked about Tyler's ascension the rest of dinner.

"How is it they talk to you and Pogue but not me and Tyler?" Reid asked.

"Maybe you're being to persistent," Sarah said. "Especially since she said she didn't want anything to do with you."

"I know what she said," Reid snipped, but he had also seen her after she walked out talking to Hannah. "There is more to what she said."

"There usually is," Caleb said. "She'll be at the party at least. In the meantime, I haven't found anything in the Book of Damnation except an excerpt saying how each of the sisters died, 3 drowning and 2 burning."

"How could they have not cared about their sisters?" Pogue asked. "It's so . . ."

"Barbaric," Kate said.

"Maybe if we read their books," Sarah said. "Know what they know, what they've tried."

"Paul probably knows," Kate added. "He is an expert on witch trials and Ipswich, plus he's part of it."

"How did he even get involved?" Caleb asked. "It seems so bizarre."

"He and Violet met at a lecture on Witch Trials at Dartmouth 3 years ago," Sarah said. "I asked when I talked to them yesterday. She tried to push him away after she fell in love with him knowing it would kill him, but he stayed."

"I told them you wanted to meet them in town tomorrow," Caleb told Sarah. "They are going shopping."

"Yes!" Kate and Sarah said excitedly. They discussed Tyler's birthday that was coming up in a few days, and ways to help the Coven.

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"Welcome," Mrs. Simms said warmly as she opened the door. "You must be the Coven."

"Thank you for inviting us," Patience said as they stepped in.

"Ah," she said cooing over Isabel and Chase. "It's been so long since we've had a baby around here. Can I hold her?" she asked and picked Isabel up. "Everyone is in the parlor this way," she said leading them along the hall.

"Happy Birthday Tyler!" Abigail and Violet said and hugged him. Patience and Hannah were next and then Paul shook his hand. Faith said happy birthday but refrained from any hugs.

"What time is your ascension?" Paul asked. He was extremely curious since he never saw one before.

"10:37," Tyler said. It was only 8 so they had plenty of time to kill. Hope, who had already eaten, went to play off in one of the rooms next to the dinning room as everyone else went in to eat.

"I hear you are also attending Harvard," Mrs. Garwin said.

"Abigail, Hannah, and I are attending," Faith said. "Abigail and I are freshman but Hannah is a second year."

"Are you nervous about leaving your babies?" Evelyn Danvers asked. "Separation anxiety can be tough."

"Extremely nervous," Hannah admitted, "But Violet and Patience will be able to watch over them during the day, and I can be there in the blink of an eye if something happens."

"They are darling," Mrs. Simms said looking at the sleeping twins. "I remember when Tyler was just a few months old. They all looked so innocent then," she joked. "If only we knew what they'd be like 18 years later."

"Mom," Tyler said stabbing his food.

"Ah, it's a motherly duty," Mrs Simms said waving her hand dismissively.

"We mothers like embarrassing stories," Patience said wickedly. "And I'm sure you all have plenty of them to tell."

The mothers all laughed making The Sons nervous. "Only a few hundred or so," Mrs. Parry said sipping her Chardonnay. "But we'll save those for over coffee and dessert."

"This is Patience ploy in telling stories about us growing up as well," Hannah pointed out. "She loves having a fresh audience."

"I wasn't aware you helped raised each other," Mrs. Garwin said surprised. "That must have been difficult."

Patience shook her hand. "Not really. I was raised my entire life knowing it would happen," she said. "And it was good practice for Hope," she said laughing. "Poor Hannah, none of us have ever had a son."

"We have plenty of advice," Mrs. Parry said with a grin.

"Do you feel like we are not even here at the table," Pogue said and Kate gently smacked his hand.

After checking on Hope and putting the sleeping twins in with her, they adjoined to the parlor. As it got closer to the time of ascension Hope toddled in. "Why are you still awake, honey?" Patience asked.

"I want to watch," she declared and sat on Paul's lap. "I'm old enough right?"

"Might as well," Faith said. "She has less than a year till hers."

"You want to see The Power?" Abigail asked tickling her. She managed to stammer out a yes during her peels of laughter.

"Where do you want to do it at?" Caleb asked. Tyler decided to do it in one of the parlors so they all, except the mothers, walked in.

"5 minutes," Kate said. "It's not going to be as difficult as Reid's was, is it?"

"No," Caleb said. "Tyler's will be like Pogue's."

"It's coming," Hope whispered, sensing it like they all could, and not wanting to disturb the special moment. A few seconds later they watched as the lightning started striking as The Power struggled with Tyler's spectre and intertwined with it. After a minute it was gone.

"Will mine hurt?" Hope asked Patience.

"No, honey. We'll make sure of it," she promised. "And then you can help Isabel and Chase's with there's."

"you will too, right?" Hope asked. "I don't know how."

"You'll be a big girl by the time Chase ascends," Patience said and the other girls avoided making eye contact with Hope. Patience avoided the looks of pity people had on their faces. "Now, we are going back to put you to bed."

"I want to stay!" Hope said as Patience carried her out of the room making Patience laugh.

"Happy birthday Tyler," Abigail said hugging him again. They all said goodbye to the others and materialized back to their manor house.

Mrs Simms knocked on her son's door later that night. "I can't believe my baby is 18, ascended, going to college . . ." she trailed off looking over his room.

"Is this the 'don't-use-and-abuse' speech?"

"I know you were disappointed," she said. She laughed at his perplexed look. "Call it mother's intuition. Faith seems like a nice girl, and if it makes you feel better, she does like you."

"How can you tell? She didn't say more than 4 words to me, and both times it was Happy Birthday," he said angrily.

"Call it women's intuition," she said with a smile. "Goodnight my love," she said and kissed the top of his head. She walked back out but stopped at the door. "I hope this makes sense to you. You will be good for her. The 4 of you boys will be good for all of them," she said walking out.

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_Author's notes: Sorry if there are any mistakes. This is going to be the last chapter for a little while. The end of the semester is kicking my butt!! Review to keep me cheered up! Thanks!_


	13. Boy Shopping

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 11: Boy Shopping**

The next few weeks went by quickly as the boys tried to learn everything they could to help the Coven. Abigail was short whenever she had to talk with Reid, but he never stopped trying. "Is his goal to slowly wear me down?" she complained. Hope and the twins were being babysat by Paul while The Coven was shopping in Ipswich.

"What about him?" Hannah asked pointing to a guy crossing the street.

"Gay?" Violet asked.

"So?" Hannah asked. "He's cute."

"Him?" Patience pointed to another getting out of a sports car. "He's got some money, and taste, judging by his car."

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked coming up with Kate. They could tell she looked depressed.

"Boy shopping," Faith said. "Want to help?"

"Really?" Kate asked. "Sounds more fun than shoe shopping."

"What's wrong?" Abigail asked.

"I just heard back from the financial aid office. I was hoping they could find more scholarships or grants for me because I didn't get a lot. In fact, it seems like I got just a big loan," she said. "Now I am going to be completely in debt after my first year. Maybe I should call my parents."

"How much are you getting of grants?" Patience asked.

"Barely enough to cover my tuition," she said. "I don't know what I'm going to do about books and room/board," she said putting her head in her hands. "My parents were so sure that because I got a scholarship to Spencer that I'd get more money in college too."

The girls all looked at each other and held a silent conversation. "What about you Kate?" they asked.

"Pretty much the same," she admitted, "but my parents are going to take out some loans too under the agreement I get a part-time job."

After a few minutes of silent conversation the Coven nodded in agreement. "It might be easier for you to live in our house in Cambridge," Patience said.

"What?" they both said.

"It'd be cheaper," Patience said, "and besides 3 of us will already be going to Harvard."

"We couldn't possibly accept," Kate said.

"The offer stands if you change your mind," Violet said. "I like him," she nodded towards the waiter in the outdoor café across the street.

"Maybe Ipswich just has to small a pool," Faith said. "I don't find more than a handful of cute guys I like."

"You only need one," Hannah pointed out. "We'll shop around Cambridge too."

"What's this for?" Kate asked. "Faith and Abigail?" the girls nodded. "He'd look cute with Abigail," she pointed.

"He looks like Reid," Abigail said making the others laugh. They ended up heading back to the Manor house calling it a day.

"July 29th is next week," Violet said. "You might want to pack out for the day," she said. The others nodded.

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"What's going on?" Caleb asked as they found Abigail, Faith, Hannah, and Patience with Hope and the twins walking around the park. "Where's Violet?"

"It's her death day," Faith said. "And we are looking at guys with dogs," she said. Sarah and Kate knew what she was talking about but the guys looked confused.

"_Death _day? Dogs?" Pogue asked

"It is the day her ancestor died, so we are hiding," Abigail said. "Like the day you found us in the park," she told Reid who had joined her on the bench.

"What happens on these days?" Reid asked.

"Feelings of despair, pain. Basically, it is the worst day you can imagine multiplied about a hundred times. Plus, she is hormonal, which makes it worse, so we are hiding," Faith said not looking at Tyler who was sitting across from her.

"Ah, how cute," Patience said pointing out a man walking a Golden Retriever.

"To short," Hannah said and Abigail nodded. "What about them?" she pointed to a man with a Dalmatian.

"Married," Faith said.

"So?" Hannah teased. "Alright, picky," she said.

"What's going on?" Reid asked.

"Have you thought any more about it?" Abigail asked Sarah to change the subject.

"If the offer still stands then I would love to," Sarah said. "School starts in 3 weeks. I already called to cancel my dorm."

"Me too," Kate admitted with a grin. "We talked it over, and we can share a room, we've done that before."

"You want to go there now?" Faith asked. "Violet is at the Manor house so the Cambridge house is safe. You can start moving stuff whenever you like."

"Great!" Kate said. "You guys are awesome. So you later," she told Pogue and kissed him goodbye. She and Kate followed the Coven girls to Cambridge.

"What on earth are they looking for here in the Park?" Tyler asked.

"Men," Reid said darkly and disappeared in a swirl of smoke, Tyler a minute after him doing the same.

"I am so glad Kate doesn't have any Power," Pogue said relaxing on the bench. Caleb nodded.

"This one on the first floor where you guys spent the night last time if you guys want it," Faith said opening the door. A second later the large bed in the middle was changed into two twin sized beds. "The closets are huge, but there is a closet across the hall if you need more room. If you want you can have the room across the hall if you don't want to share."

"How are there so many rooms in this house?" Sarah asked.

"Well, we have Used to make it bigger," Hannah said. "The upstairs rooms have sets of 2 adjoining bedrooms. It is so mother's and daughters can be close. These two were spare rooms. Chase and his mother stayed with us for awhile and used these rooms," she said with a nostalgic grin.

"Do you mind if we bring in some clothes and bedding?" Sarah asked. Patience shook her head. "Cool. I have most of my stuff at my parent's house, which is close. I can have some stuff brought in tonight."

"Reid says you are finally talking with him," Kate said as they all sat around the large table in the kitchen.

"We are friends," Abigail shrugged.

"He still wants to be more," Sarah said. "I've never seen him so determined before, unless it's beating Caleb at something," she amended.

"It can't be more," Abigail said. "But the more he pushes, the more I find myself wanting to date him."

"I don't see the problem," Kate admitted. "What's wrong if you date him? I mean, if you don't want to sleep with him in this crazy timetable of yours, that's fine, but why can't you still have fun with him?"

"It's another long story," Abigail said evasively. "It's also why Faith pushes Tyler away."

"_I_ have a bad feeling about this," Tyler thought as he stood outside the Coven manor. _I just hope their death days don't project unto others, but even so . . ._ he rang the doorbell, and a minute later Paul opened the door.

"I'm sorry this is a bad time," he said.

"Violet just fell asleep again," he said and Tyler could see the worry on Paul's face. It made the 30 year old look at least 10 years older. "What's up?"

"I know you are close to all of the girls, especially after marrying Violet," he started thinking about how to phrase his question. "What is Faith doing?" he asked. "She keeps pushing me away. Just me, so I know it's not a Son of Ipswich thing since she is fine around Reid, Caleb, and Pogue."

Paul took a seat on a stool in the kitchen. He indicated Tyler should sit as well. "She's being self-preservationist," he explained. "Her and Patience never expected to get married or fall in love. In fact, something about all of the girls is how none of them ever planned on falling in love," he said. "It would lead to heartbreak for all of them. Violet still blames herself knowing that it will mean I die when she does. Same thing if Hannah got involved with someone. The Garwin and Simms line (Faith and Patience) never married. Ever since then, none of their descendants have either." He purposely left out the Danvers line figuring that was for Abigail to tell.

"I'm not proposing marriage to her," Tyler pointed out.

"That's not the problem," Paul said. "All of Faith's ancestors have been betrayed by the father of their daughter, or in the rare occasion they try to have a relationship with someone other than the father of their daughter, by their boyfriend. She's just waiting for you to hurt her since she has feelings for you."

"Because she has feelings for me, I will automatically betray her?" Tyler asked surprised. "That's absurd."

"It's fate," he said with a shrug. "It's your job to prove to her you can break fate."

"Yeah, that's the problem. You're a historian, you've studied their history," he said, "what are your ideas on how to break the curse?"

"Honestly? My theory is they have the pieces to the puzzle scattered throughout their history. What the answer is, though, I have no idea." he heard Violet was awake and crying so he excused himself and went back upstairs.

Tyler drove back to his house. He went to the pond behind the old Simms windmill. It was at the back of the Simms estate bordering the old Putnam estate. It was his favorite place to think and where he went whenever he had to gather his thoughts, which was exactly what he had to do right then.

The next day he materialized right inside the front entrance of the Cambridge manor surprising Hope who gave a scream of surprise bringing Sarah, Kate, Abigail, and Patience rushing to the front parlor.

"By everything that's holy Tyler!" Patience said. By now Hope was over her shock and hugging Tyler in hello. "You almost got yourself some heavy dosing of Power right there."

"Is Faith here?" he asked.

"She's at the Ipswich manor today," Abigail said. "She is helping Violet with the cleaning so she and Paul can move in when Spencer starts in a few weeks." he materialized out and arrived in the front parlor of the Ipswich Coven manor house.

"Tyler?" Violet asked surprised then she grinned. "I want to believe in you. You don't seem like the betraying type. Just remember, if you do, not even The Power will be able to protect you from us," she warned then went back to cleaning the windows in the parlor. "Check the library," she added.

Tyler walked right to the library. "Tyler?" Faith asked surprised practically dropping her duster.

"I've been looking for you," he said.

"For what?" she asked wearily.

"To ask you a question," he said. "You've known me for almost 4 months," he said. "Do I seem like the type to hurt you?"

She opened her mouth flabbergasted. "What?"

"What makes you think I would ever do anything to hurt you? Or betray you?" he asked. "I haven't even told the other guys about this part of the Coven fate, because they would think it ridiculous to believe me capable of such things. Do you know how many times I've heard Caleb say I don't have the balls to lie to him or the others?" he said, realizing he was ranting. "It always 'Tyler's the sweet one' or 'Tyler's the quiet one.' They would laugh themselves silly if they heard you thought I could ever hurt you."

"You know what they say about the quiet one," she hissed. She walked over to the scroll labeled Garwin and unrolled it. "Look. Not once there do you see someone married, living happily through her short days with someone," she said.

"That doesn't mean me," he said.

"For over 300 years and 12 generations it has," she said crossing her arms. "It's the only thing I know for sure in my life," she said.

"All I'm asking is a chance to prove to you I'm not like that," he said. "None of them have been A Son of Ipswich before," he said.

"We have yet to see if that makes a difference," Faith said. "Don't forget who started this. You could end up like the rest of them."

"You have my permission to do whatever you or your coven like with me if I hurt you," he said. "It wouldn't be any less than I deserve."

"You are too sweet for my own good," she said looking at her family tree. It consisted of a single line going down from Hope Garwin to herself. No branches, no lines meaning marriages, just a line going from mother to daughter to granddaughter, all the way down to Faith Garwin.

"I can't make any promises," she said. Tyler grinned.

"You need help around here?" he asked. He didn't expect this to be easy, but at least he had a chance now. He just tried not to think about how he had to fight fate.

"I'm finished in here. Next is the kitchen," she said as they walked there. He spent the next couple of hours helping her clean the house for Paul and Violet.

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"He just appeared," Abigail said as she and Reid were walking around the mall. She was shopping (hitting all the back to school sales and buying enough clothes to fill at least two rooms, Reid thought) and he drove there to spend time with her. Unlike Tyler, he wasn't going to confront her . . . yet. "Hope screamed, we rushed down, Patience and I about ready to lay a hex on whoever was stupid enough to break into our house," she said. "I guess I should have realized Hope could take care of herself, but it still practically gave me a heart attack."

"I would love to see you use The Power again," he admitted. The only time was during his ascension, and he was practically dead, but he still remembered how amazingly powerful she looked during it. "You looked amazing," he admitted. "Strong, powerful, in control, beautiful." he grinned when she blushed. "It doesn't drain your life?"

"No. It drains us," she explained, "like the day after is a lot less glamorous. But we get recharged and are fine. That's the way it was for you guys before the curse too, but that was so long ago I doubt any of your books recall that."

"What about this?" he said picking up a blue strapless dress that he thought would look great with her pale complexion and blonde hair. "You would look great in it."

"You know, this whole experience is freaking me out," she admitted which made him grin. "Chase was the only guy I was really friends with growing up before he moved, and then Paul. Needless to say, I've never been shopping with a guy like this before."

"Well, I volunteer whenever you want company," he said. "Except shoe shopping. Caleb has had horror stories of times he's gone with Sarah."

"Some things are best left between girls," she laughed.

They ended up in the Baby Store. "What should I get Violet and Paul?" he asked frowning. "There shower is in a month right?"

"Yup. Here," she handed him a pink onesie that said _I'm Magical_. "Clothes, diapers, that kind of stuff. We have the bigger stuff like a crib and changing table."

Soon they were driving back to the Cambridge house. "How well did you know Chase?" Reid asked as he drove.

"I met him when we were 4," she said. "His mother and our mothers became close. He was there for my mother's death, Faith's too. His mother died right after Hannah's. Then he was adopted and moved away. Hannah was devastated. Actually, Faith and I were too. He was our only real good friend outside the Coven."

"You guys didn't go to school?"

"Our mom's didn't want to risk the chance we would accidently Use in front of anyone," she explained. "We went to public middle school, and got into Spencer, but before she died my mother specifically said we were not to attend Spencer under any circumstances."

"Why? It seems kind of . . ."

"Absurd?" she asked. "I think she was afraid we would meet you Sons. Something that hasn't happened since the original split."

"I'm just glad we met regardless," he said sending her a sly grin. "I'll help you carry them in," and in a flash they were gone.

"You are to keep the using down!" she chided. "Honestly." She shook her head as she got out of the car. "See you later Reid." She walked inside and missed the pleased look on Reid's face.

"How'd it go?" Tyler asked as he called Reid while Reid was driving back.

"I'm slowly wearing her down," he said sounding confident and cocky. _I hope_ was what he really thought.

"If it's anything like Faith just be patient," Tyler said not fooled by Reid's act.

"If only I was a patient person," Reid said. "But I'm going to try."

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Author's notes: special thanks to **ShadowWolfDagger** (yes, very much cheered up! Thanks!) and **EvilAngel** (we have a little ways to go, things have to get personal first : ) for reviewing!


	14. Encounters

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 12: Encounters**

A few weeks later term started at Harvard. Sarah and Kate had officially moved into the house in Cambridge with Faith, Abigail, and Hannah with her twins, while Violet, Paul, Patience, and Hope were moved into the Ipswich manor house.

"Hey," Reid said finding her after the first day of lectures.

"Hi," she said wishing he would stop being so persistent.

"Talk about surreal," he said taking a seat and looking like he had no intention of leaving her alone any time soon. "What did you think of the Ethics of Politics class?"

"That it's odd you managed to get in 3 of my classes," she said frowning at him.

"Well," he said with a shrug.

"I have to meet Faith," she said. "I guess I'll see you in class." She walked off and headed home. As annoying as her attempts to push him away were, it only motivated him to work harder. Sarah's theory about fate made sense to him. All the more reason, he thought, to be relentless in his pursuit of Abigail.

"Another Reid encounter?" Faith asked as Abigail stormed into their front parlor.

"Yes," she said aggravated. "I am so happy you are trying with Tyler . . ." she saw Faith cringe, "okay, going at a snail's pace with Tyler, but you are happy with him. I just want him to stop, it's the only way I know to protect him."

"Well, you could tell him. Imminent death seems to be a great way to halt whatever feelings people develop for each other," Faith said. "Come on. Let's try the mall again. If we get desperate, we can just go to a frat party. They are a guaranteed success," she said and they drove to the mall. They spent the rest of the afternoon watching and scouting boys.

The rest of August flew by and September soon arrived. "What's with the giant red circle on the calendar for tomorrow?" Kate asked afraid something was coming up.

"Death day," Hannah said. "I put it there as a reminder for you and Sarah."

"Who's?" Sarah asked mentally going back over the order in the Witch trials. "Yours, right?" Hannah nodded.

"They all seem to happen quickly at the end of the year," Faith said. "Hannah, mine, and Abigail's all happen once a month from now on."

"Is there anything we can do?" Kate asked.

"Nah," Hannah said. "I've been through enough to know what to expect."

"You know they are worse after you've had your daughter," Faith reminded her. "Look at Patience."

"I'll be fine," she said. "Isabel and Chase are going to stay with Violet and Hope so everything is taken care off. How's the boy shopping?"

"Not successful," Faith said.

"Honestly, I haven't been looking as hard as I should have," Abigail admitted.

"Do you want me to remind you you are late?" Hannah asked. Abigail shot her a glare and went upstairs.

"Late?"

"She won't see her daughter get her powers at 7 any more," Hannah said. "She's waited to long now. Unless, of course, we do figure out how to stop the curse."

"Abby isn't the first to be late with her child. What have you done lately?" Faith asked

"Tomorrow I'm taking this," Hannah said holding a vial. She saw their perplexed looks. "A sleep inducing death. If it works, I'll just never wake up."

"What?" Sarah and Kate yelled.

"I highly doubt it will work," Hannah said. "We've never been able to kill ourselves before."

"That is insane!"

"I told you not to tell them," Faith said grabbing a peach and heading to her room to write a paper.

"It won't work," she said. "At least, not on me. It would probably kill either of you. It's just part of this curse. No matter how hard we try, we can't die before our death day," she shrugged. "Our current theory is trying to die on the death day, just on a different year."

"What about Isabel and Chase?"

"I never said I _wanted_ it to work," Hannah said. "I'd rather break the curse and live, not die and break the curse." She finished putting the dishes in the cupboards and went to change Isabel's diaper. "I'll be _so_ glad when they are toilet trained," she muttered.

"Are you sure you don't want someone with you?" Abigail asked Hannah the next day after Violet picked up the twins. "Just to keep you company?"

"I just want to be alone." she said from her bed. Abigail made a bouquet of daffodils appear to cheer up the room before leaving.

"What?" Pogue and Caleb said when Sarah and Kate told them what Hannah's plans were. "They are even more insane than I thought."

"Or desperate," Tyler said. "They think they are immortal until their official death day."

"They practically are," Sarah said. "I was looking through some of their records last night, and I can not find one ancestor who died early despite all of their attempts, and there have been plenty."

"Have Abigail or Faith tried anything like this?" Reid asked.

"I don't know," Sarah said sadly. "I haven't really found a lot on the Danvers death days yet, and Faith's records are also missing. I . . . I think they are hiding them."

Reid walked to class and found Abigail outside waiting. He grabbed her hand and led her outside where they wouldn't be easily overheard. "We know what Hannah's doing," he said. "Have you ever tried anything like that?!"

"No. My death days are bad enough without trying to kill myself. At least, not on purpose," she said thinking about her death day 2 years ago. She felt the zing of an impending vision and tried to resist the pull as Reid continued to bark at her. His face blurred into one she recognized as Charlotte Danver's husband, Henry, before she shook it off. It reinforced her resolve to keep Reid far.

"Why do you all think Hannah will be okay?" he asked. "This is all just insane," he shook his head. "Pogue is freaking out, half-tempted to go check on her himself. He is starting to think of her as a sister," he said.

"It won't do any good," she snapped. "She's probably just watching TV or reading a book while eating chocolates trying to get over her depression. That's the worst of it is depression, although now that she has given birth it will be worse since she is that much closer to the real one. And the reason, at least my theory, that nothing ever works, is because before you have a daughter and ensure the continuance of the line, the Power doesn't want your line to die out. After birth, well, I'm not sure." She checked her watch. "I'm going to be late for lecture," she said heading back to class dismissing him. She was crabby that her visions had become sporadic and unpredictable ever since they had met the sons.

"I'll find you afterwards," he yelled. She rolled her eyes. _Probably,_ she thought. She decided she had to keep Reid safe, which meant away from her.

Sarah and Kate stayed in Caleb and Pogue's dorms for the night just in case Hannah was still feeling the effects of her death day. When Faith and Abigail got back they found her in her bedroom. "Pogue came by, idiot," she murmured. "Men are just wretched."

They saw the empty vial and knew she had tried the potion. "What did Pogue do that condemned the entire male species?" Abigail asked.

"He freaked out seeing the empty vial. Obviously it didn't work. He figured that out as I was yelling at him. I think I scarred him for life."

"I'm sure he was just happy you are alright. Reid told me that he thinks of you as a sister," Abigail said.

Hannah gave a 'hmph.' "You should just hex Reid and tell him to go screw the nearest cheerleader," she snapped. Abigail knew it was the day making her say such things but it still pissed her off. She just walked out before _she _said something she would regret. _It probably is for the best, the best thing for him, but why can't I have a normal relationship! It's not fair,_ she thought slamming her door shut in frustration. Knowing what happened to Charlotte's husband and what would happen to Reid make her kick the door again in anger.

The next day Hannah was back to her normal self and even thanked Pogue for coming by. She was touched by his concern.

The end of September brought several parties as Harvard had it's homecoming. Nobody attended the football game, but there were plenty of parties. Faith had even agreed to go to one with Tyler. "Honestly, Faith, I think we might break the curse simply because I can't see him hurting or betraying you," Abigail said as they gave each other manicures. "Irony of ironies, it would be a Son of Ipswich who saved us," she laughed.

"I hope so. Obviously because I'd get to be with Tyler, but if we broke it, it would mean you could have a normal relationship with Reid. I'm glad you are going with him," she said

"I am not. We are friends attending the same party with our other friends. Anything more I told him would get him materialized to Antarctica without any clothing."

"What did he say?" Faith asked laughing knowing that Reid would have some snappy comeback.

"He said so long as he got to see me Use he'd be happy," Abigail said laughing. "He is always saying how he likes to see me Use, ever since his ascension."

"Ah, . . . kind of odd, but at least you wouldn't have to hide it from him," Faith said. They changed and drove to the party. Reid and Tyler quickly found them.

They spent the evening having fun until the topic of the curses and death days came up. "Isn't yours soon?" Tyler asked.

"Next week," Faith said biting her lower lip. "And no, I'm not going to do anything like what Hannah did. I don't have the next in the bloodline yet, so I'm not taking risks." She could tell Tyler was relieved. Abigail quickly changed the subject for her– partly because she knew it wasn't a happy subject, but also because she was afraid it would bring up talk about her death day and she didn't want to talk about that.

When they were bored they drove off. Faith and Tyler ended up going to the Simms manor since he promised his mom a visit, and to get a few books out of the archives. Abigail and Reid arrived at the Coven manor. Since the twins were asleep they just stayed on the first floor so they wouldn't wake them up with their talking. They ended up falling asleep watching a movie.

_The mist cleared and she saw Henry coming up the path to the manor house. "Charles, I think Henry is going to ask father for my hand."_

_"What are you telling me for?" Charles Danvers asked his sister Charlotte._

_"Honestly Charles, what would I want you to do?! Wish me happiness, offer me your congratulations," Charlotte said, the love she felt for Henry all but consuming her so that she didn't even feel hurt over her brother's distant behavior. "Why can't we be like we were as we were when we were children? You were . . ." she trailed off which caught Charles' attention._

_"I was what? More attentive to you?"_

_She didn't admit that they had grown apart once Charles ascended into the full Power. "You were happier," she finally said. "Lighter. Now . . . you are so distant with me. Why? Our Power is the same, I am the same, why is it you have changed?"_

_"No, Charlotte," Charles said finally coming to stand by her in front of the window. "I may not be the same, but you are not the same either. I see you with Henry, and you seem to let the world fade away. How is it you are so happy with one person?"_

_"You mean how can a person and not The Power make me happy," she said turning from him. She wanted to ask why they had all changed as they got older, but didn't have the courage. Charles returned to his desk and ledgers and whatever else interested him. She didn't know anymore. A knock on the door and a maid entered announcing Henry Bennett's arrival. _

_Charles watched as Charlotte practically bounded out of the room and shook his head. He had long stopped understanding his sister. _

_Charlotte walked down the stairs like a proper lady, but her heart was fluttering madly when she turned and saw Henry standing by the mantle. "Mr. Bennett," she called, alerting him to her presence. _

_Henry's smile lighted his whole face and she could feel the love pouring off him as he crossed to her. The conversation with Charles, the years of hurt from him had washed away until she forgot about him. Henry and their love consumed her leaving no room for anything else. "Miss Danvers," he said kissing her hand. "I had hoped to entice you into joining me this afternoon," he said. "I have spoken with your father already," he added making her beating heart practically stop with happiness. She couldn't understand how a person could live with so much happiness without their hearts overflowing or bursting._

Abigail woke in the morning and the vision left her eyes misty from the overpowering emotion from her ancestor. She found herself in her bed. Not unusual. What was unusual was finding she wasn't alone. And it wasn't Hope who toddled in after a nightmare either.

"Reid!" She yelled. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I thought I was sleeping," he muttered. He stretched and propped himself up. "How'd we get here?"

"You did this idiot!" she cried. "How else could we get here." The worse possible scenario was being with Reid right after that vision. She wanted desperately to feel for herself what Charlotte and her Henry felt, and she knew she could with Reid, but she wouldn't condemn Reid. As much as she wanted what Charlotte and Henry had, she knew she couldn't stand the heartache and loss Charlotte felt when she lost Henry.

"Hey, I fell asleep with you, but that was in the parlor. Don't be so upset," he said. "Nothing happened. I promise."

"Except for the fact you made yourself welcome in my bed," she pointed out. _Anger him, make him leave angry and upset with you_ she told herself.

"Hey, I already said I didn't do this."

She raised an eyebrow. "You and I both know that you are probably the only Son besides Chase who can unconsciously Use. I mean, you've been better since your ascension, but you were heavily addicted."

He glared. "I know you can Use unconsciously as well. How do you know it wasn't you who moved us here?"

She snorted. "I can understand moving myself, but why on earth would I move you?" she asked. Her eyes flashed completely white and sent him back to the Garwin estate in Ipswich.

_Which of us did that?_ She wondered. Now that Reid was gone and she could think clearly– something she wasn't good at when he was constantly in her presence– she had no clue who moved them. It was possible she did when she had the vision. She decided to just forget the whole thing and just forget Reid. _Good luck with that!_ she thought sarcastically.

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_Special thanks to ShadowWolfDagger, EvilAngel, AuroraRose, and anangelwithnoname for the lovely reviews! Sorry I haven't updated lately. I was without the internet while I went home for the holidays. Enjoy! And review please!_


	15. Flower Child

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

NOTE: I don't know if they named the other mothers of The Sons, so I did (if I'm wrong) please let me know!. Christiana is Tyler's mom, Deirdre is Reid's mom, and Evangeline is Pogue's mom.

**Chapter 13: Flower Child**

She successfully avoided him for the rest of the weekend even though he called 7 times and materialized to the house. They all met to go over plans and ideas on how to fight the curse Monday evening but she talked with Caleb during most of it. _Time to be more proactive_ she thought Tuesday morning. There was a cute boy who had showed interest in her before so she took the initiative and sat next to him in lecture that morning.

"Sean, right?" she asked. She talked while they waited for the professor to arrive, and then they walked to the campus coffee shop after lecture.

"Are you busy tomorrow night?" he asked.

She sized him up. Six foot, dark hair, brown eyes, good complexion, and she knew he was a year older than her. "No, my last class is over at 4, so I'm free." They agreed to meet at the restaurant off campus for dinner.

She excitedly called Faith. "I got a date," she said happily.

"Really? Reid?"

"No!" she said. "A guy from one of my classes. I'm thinking we hit if off, then just don't see each other after this semester."

"Is it your TA? He was pretty hot," Faith said.

"If this falls through I'll ask him next," she said. "I'll tell you more later," she said rushing to her next lecture. Faith had Tyler, who was with her, swear not to tell Reid.

Abigail pulled up in front of the restaurant the next night filled with nervous excitement. She found Sean sitting at a table waiting for her. "You look great," he said as she sat down.

"Thank you," she said. They made small talk– lecture, classes– while they waited on their food.

Their dinners finally arrived and they had started talking about their families. He had only 2 brothers and thought it fun with 4 sisters. "Does this have nuts?" he asked suddenly gasping. "I thought I requested no nuts."

Abigail's eyes narrowed. She heard him tell the waiter specifically no nuts because he was allergic. She made the worst of the reaction disappear so he could drive himself to the hospital. She eyed the restaurant looking for signs of Reid but couldn't find him. She went up to pay, but was told the bill was already taken care off. She marched out to her car, but still didn't catch any sign of Reid.

"What happened?" Hannah asked as she stormed in. When Abigail told her she was torn between wanting to hex Reid and laugh. She decided neither would be a good recourse. "Just tell him and then maybe he will finally realize why he can't have feelings for you."

"I know, but with Faith's death day this week and everything else . . . I'll tell him after my death day," she decided. Hannah told her to just tell him and get it done with but Abigail had already stormed up to her room.

She found Reid the next day on campus. "Let's get this straight," she said, "you would have to be the _last_ male on earth right about now to win my favor," she seethed.

"I think I can convince Tyler, Pogue, and Caleb to help with that."

"I'd sleep with one of them right now over you," she said and stormed off to lecture. She saw Sean sitting there and gave a wave, which he returned, but then turned to the girl next to him. She wasn't surprised.

Nor was she surprise when Reid took the seat next to her. "Have you picked which president to do your paper on?" he asked. "I'm thinking Jefferson."

She ignored him during lecture which didn't seem to phase him. Afterwards she went to the store right off campus to pick up some new music for Faith and ran into Caleb. "Am I being under constant surveillance by The Sons?" she asked.

"Bad time?"

"Nah," she said. She sighed. "Tell Reid to back off. It's for his own good."

"I"ll try, but he prides himself on not listening to me," he said. They talked while she picked up two new CDS and a DVD for faith. Then they walked around campus talking for an hour while he was between classes.

The next morning the girls all tiptoed out of the house so they wouldn't disturb Faith. Abigail left the cds and DVD on the dresser next to the book, magazine, and candy the other girls had left for her (what they called the D-Day package). "She'll be okay, right?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, just crabby," Hannah said. "Violet get's weepy, Patience gets withdrawn, and Faith gets crabby."

"You get pretty bitchy yourself," Abigail pointed out making Hannah laugh.

"What about you?" Sarah asked.

"I . . ." she was trying to figure out how to describe it.

"She kind of becomes. . . . lost," Hannah said unable to decide on a better adjective. "See you for dinner!" she called out to Abigail as she walked off to her class. Abigail waved to Sarah and Kate as they all went off their separate ways. Sarah and Kate were going to stay with Caleb and Pogue even though they were told Faith would be fine by that night, they thought it would be nice to give her her space.

Caleb and Sarah pulled up in front of the Danvers manor. "Hello dears," Evelyn said when they came in.

"Hi mom," Caleb said kissing her cheek.

"Hi Evelyn," Abigail said with a smile.

"Have you eaten? I have dinner waiting if you haven't," she said. "I know Christiana said she would be coming by tonight but I wasn't sure if that meant Tyler or not, so I had extra made. The other mothers are coming as well."

"What's up with Christiana?" Caleb asked. "Is everything alright?"

"Just mother business," Evelyn said putting her hand on Caleb's cheek. "Nothing you need to worry yourself over. Now, how are classes going?"

"Alright, I'm looking forward to Christmas break," Caleb said laughing. He and Sarah were talking about their classes when they heard the door open and Tyler, his mom Christiana, and Reid and his mom Deirdre walked in. Pogue, Kate, and Mrs. Parry (Evangeline) arrived soon after.

"I feel like we are about to face the inquisition," Pogue said. "Normally we only have everyone over for birthdays and stuff like that."

"Just want to enjoy all of us together," Evelyn said.

The Coven sisters were having their own party. Faith was starting to act like herself again, so they all ordered pizza, rented movies, and pigged out in the living room. They let Hope play in the Nursery. "Pizza and beer," Paul said. "I feel like I'm in college again."

"I guess some things are just classic," Violet teased as she drank milk instead. "I love these nights," she said with a sigh. "Your perspective changes the closer you get."

"Tell me about it," Abigail said since she was technically the one closest to dying.

"So, no future prospects?" Patience asked.

"Nope, every time I think I get close, Reid somehow sabotages everything," she grumbled. "Three failed dates in a row. I'm 0 for 3."

"I think it's kind of cute," Hannah said. She laughed. "You're working so hard to stay out of a relationship; he's working so hard to create one. My money's on him," she said taking a bite.

"Hey!" Abigail and Faith yelled.

"I'm a romantic," Hannah said. They stayed up for hours enjoying the normalcy.

The end of October arrived and everyone was expecting an early snow. "This winter is going to be crazy," Faith said as she, Abigail, and Kate crashed in the living room. The television was on but no one was really paying attention to it. Finally giving up they decided to call it a night since Kate had an 8am class.

Around two in the morning Abigail was tossing and turning in pain until she finally woke up. It took her a moment to get her thoughts together and clear her head to understand what it meant. "Faith!" she yelled as she jumped out of bed. "Hannah!!" They were both on the same floor and she hoped they heard her.

Sure enough, a few second later both came barreling in to see what was the problem. "Hurry!" Abigail chided, already in her jeans and a sweater and was looking for her jacket.

"What? What's going on? Are we being attacked?" Faith asked groggily, but still up for a fight.

"Violet is having her baby!" Abigail said excitedly as she grabbed her purse. "Come on! Get dressed!"

"2 seconds!" faith said and grabbed one of Abigail's sweaters since it was within reaching distance. She quickly ran back to her room for some shoes, not caring if she showed up in her sweat pants or not.

After a long internal debate, Hannah quickly Used to put Chase and Isabel in their carriers and grabbed her jacket. Within five minutes all three were ready and rushing to the door.

"Can we come?" Sarah asked. She and Kate, who had woken up from the yelling and excitement, had their jackets and ready to go. They piled into Hannah's SUV since it had the carseats and had just pulled into the hospital parking lot when Patience called them.

"Violet just went into labor and we are leaving for the hospital," she said.

"Wait, just _now_ went into labor?" Faith asked. "Abby!!"

"Ooops, sorry," Abigail said blushing. "How's Paul?"

Patience laughed. "I think he would have forgotten Violet if I wasn't here to help he's so turned around. We'll be there soon," Patience said.

"Well, should we go in and tell them to expect her?" Abigail asked sheepishly.

"Next time, tell us it hasn't happened yet," Hannah said laughing. "I could have brushed my hair at home and put my makeup on."

Sure enough, by the time Violet, Paul, and Patience arrived (Patience having called Christiana to watch Hope) a doctor was waiting for them.

Violet had all of her sisters in with her and Paul not wanting them to miss anything. "I'm just thankful we can afford a large, private room to accommodate all of us," Faith whispered to Abigail.

"Really? I'm thankful for modern medicine," she said thinking back to some of her other visions. "And running water."

They were told it could be awhile before she would ready. They were all enduring Violet's litany of curses and were surprise that Abigail was on the receiving end of most of them like Paul. "You saw this! Why didn't you warn me? I never would have done this!" she kept hollering.

Abigail bit her tongue from pointing out that she had experienced many more births than any of them. "Be thankful it is only this once," Hannah said wiping Violet's brow. "I had two."

"I don't know how you did it," Violet said happy for the ice chips Paul had.

Abigail had gone out at one point to keep Sarah and Kate updated and was surprised to see The Sons. "We called to let them know," Sarah explained.

"How is she doing?" Pogue asked.

Just then they heard the door opening as Faith came out and Violet blaiming both Abigail and Paul some more. "She's . . . vocal," Faith said laughing. She took a seat next to Tyler and laid her head against his shoulder—a big step in how far they were coming making Abigail smile. "Watching her makes me less than eager to have my own daughter."

They both rushed back in when the doctor came back by and, judging by the crying, yelling, and the fact the doctor didn't come out right away, The Sons were guessing that Violet was delivering.

Hannah arrived a little later and told them they could come in. Violet looked like she had forgotten the anxiety of the last few hours and was contently holding her daughter.

"Ah, she is so adorable!" Sarah said as she and Kate cooed over the baby.

"What did you name her?" Kate asked.

"Peony Parry," Violet said happily as Paul took her to hold for awhile. He seemed more in shock than Violet did. Everyone understood that they always passed on the family name (taking the name Coven only in public), and Faith had once told them the Parry line all had names relating to flowers.

Letting the new parents relax with their new baby the others took their leave. Pogue drove Kate to campus for her early class and the others headed back to try to get a little sleep.

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_I realize with The Power that they could have made the birth faster and less painful, but I wanted a human aspect of this in their lives to juxtapose their magical parts._

**EvilAngel** thank you! I really appreciate you always reviewing : ) **Christina** Generally speaking, Abigail's ancestor died by being burned at the stake (like Faith's ancestor) and cursed her brother (like the other girls did), although I do have one more twist up my sleeve **AnAngelwithNoName** Hopefully soon enough :) **Supernature** **GilmoreGirls** Thank you! **ShadowWolfDagger** Thank you! I do try to update consistency and it is easier with this story and some of my others since I have them written out already. It's just a matter of having the time to get on. **Susangel** Ah, I try to give time to the other Sons too, and Pogue I think gets the least. Nothing really exciting with Faith's D-day, but I think Abigail's will make up for it. Is that what you want Reid to do: )


	16. WICKED! revelations

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this (nor do I own WICKED). Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 14: WICKED! Revelations**

The beginning of November arrived with an early snowstorm. "I love this weather," Abigail told Reid doing a little twirl as they walked to class. She had resigned herself that he would be there. 

"It suits you," he said with a grin. He didn't elaborate knowing she didn't want to hear it and he didn't want to embarrass himself more. After lecture he watched as she scattered off. She had been spending more time lately in the library going through books but he didn't know what for. They had almost all the same classes together and he knew she had already finished her research. He did what came logical to him and followed her one night to the library.

"What are you doing?" Reid demanded his voice above a whisper which caused several people closest to them to glare at them.

"Research," she said as she flipped through the Harvard faculty book looking up the newest faculty members.

He reached out and slammed it close. "What's it going to take to prove to you Abby I am more than you think? That I have sincere feelings for you?"

"When are you going to realize that _that _is the problem you idiot," she hissed. She grabbed her bag, walked out of the library, and as soon as she got to an empty area, materialized back to her bedroom in the Ipswich manor. She flipped on some sad music to match her mood and threw herself on her bed. She ended up falling asleep wallowing in her sorrows.

Reid materialized in her room after he drove her car back to the Cambridge manor house (she left it since she left in such a rush) and discovered she wasn't there. He saw her asleep on the bed even though it was barely 8. He slid in behind her, laid against her back, and wrapped an arm around her waist just watching her.

He watched her as she slept, wondering why she kept pushing him away. Even Faith had stopped looking over her shoulders making sure Tyler was still there. He was about to fall asleep himself when he felt her stir.

Abigail woke up deciding she should proof read her paper and she wasn't going to let Reid ruin her GPA. She woke up disorientated, wondering why she felt comfortably warm and protected when she fell asleep in self-pity. She looked down to the weight around her waist and saw she was wrapped in someone's arms. Inching her head around she knew it was Reid before she saw his face. It brought fresh tears to her face. _The one, absolute person I don't want to see, and he is always here no matter how hard I push,_ she said. She slipped out of his embrace and out of bed, lying his arm gently down. She walked to the door, and turned back to make sure was still asleep but he wasn't in the bed. When she turned back to the door she jumped a foot in the air seeing Reid had materialized right in front of her. "Why are you crying?" he asked wiping a tear away. "Just tell me Abby, so I can fix it, or leave you alone."

He grabbed her hand and materialized them back to the bed. "You always assume I am pushing you away because of me," she said. "Do you remember anything I said about Charlotte?"

"The betrayal and cursing part?" he asked with a smirk. "I remember."

"You forgot the part about the fact she was a widow when she was killed," she sighed. "Her husband died a month before her daughter was born. Ever since then whenever a man stays with a Danvers woman, he dies a month before the baby is born."

"That's why you've been pushing me away?" he asked. "We are working to reverse this, Abby. We'll find a way around this too."

"We've tried to fix this too," she said, "and still haven't found anything. I was trying to make you stop liking me. My own feelings don't matter. I could live with unrequited love for the next 7 years, I just couldn't live with myself for that long if you died."

He didn't address the fact she said love; he wasn't sure she knew she said it, and he didn't want to say it first. "Isn't that my choice to make?"

"You're not being reasonable," she said.

"Not my strong point," he said. "Tyler's the reasonable, sweet one, Caleb the brains and beauty, Pogue the adorable, jealous, protective-of-everyone-around-him type. I'm the pro-active, jump-into-things-head-first type," he joked.

"This isn't something to joke about," she yelled. "If you stay and have feelings for me, it will happen. You don't have to be the father of the child. Twice ancestors have fathered their daughter by someone other than their boyfriends, and yet the boyfriends stay and still die. It's the connection that will kill you."

"I can't just turn off what I feel for you like that," he said snapping. "No more than you can wave your hand and lift the curse." He rubbed her back and pulled her next to him to lie down on the bed. "We'll find out what to do," he said reassuringly. "Don't worry about your paper, you'll have time to finish it tomorrow."

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Around midnight she woke up again and snuck down to the library. She pulled out the prophecy book and the corresponding CD version (they had, afterall, adapted with technology). She flipped through and page by page, made notes on the prophecies that have already happened, the ones that obviously wouldn't happen for a few generations (such as in 2039, Charity Simms will win the Lotto and donate the proceeds to the America Herbology Society).

She ended up falling asleep as the printer finished printing out her notes.

Reid woke up and found the bed empty. He found Abigail in the library, sleeping on top of the prophecy book. He picked her up and carried her back to her room. Truth was, he couldn't go back to sleep thinking about what she had told him, so he headed to the kitchen. He found Paul getting a bottle ready. "Didn't know you were here," he said. "Did Peony keep you up?"

"No, just couldn't sleep," he said. "Can I ask you something?"

"I have a feeling this isn't a history question," he said.

"Kind of," Reid said. "Why did you decide to stay?"

"Abigail finally told you?" Reid nodded. "It's a tough decision, Reid. I'm not going to lie and try to make it easier for you. But it felt right. I knew I loved Violet, would even if we had 80 years together instead of 12. But I knew we would have 12 years, a daughter, and to me, it was worth the price of being with her." There was a pause as he tested the bottle.

"It's not the same like with Tyler, and the others won't understand it," he said. "Tyler is just risk losing Faith, not himself. But you," he said looking at him, "you have the toughest decision of anyone. Abigail didn't want to give you a choice, but ultimately, it is your choice." He rocked baby Peony as she drank from the bottle greedily.

"You don't have to make it tonight," he said. "Maybe we can stop this curse before you have to make that decision."

"Maybe," Reid said as Paul walked back to the nursery.

Abigail woke up the next morning and was surprised to see Reid already up. "You're up before 8am?" she teased brushing the hair out of her eyes. "That's got to be a first."

"Well, I had some packing to do," he said mischievously.

"Packing?" she asked confused, deciding she wasn't awake enough for any conversation.

"Yeah, I only packed clothes from here so if there is anything you want or anything you want in particular you are going to have to pick it out for yourself."

She groaned and put her embarrassed face in her pillow. She didn't want to think about him going through her wardrobe. "I am not ready for this conversation," she decided. "What are you planning anyways?" she asked tentatively.

"I realized that these books of yours, the ones I found in your other room in Cambridge," he said picking one she was in the middle of writing up, "that you write them yourself, that you probably have more knowledge about herbs and Wiccan and magic than people four times our age." He flipped to the back of one of her published books and laughed. "I like your picture," he said.

"Yeah, Faith is the tech genius. She aged my picture. It's fun to see what I would look like at 40," she shrugged. "She showed me 90 with wrinkles and we laughed I wouldn't have to worry about botax or anything." She didn't see Reid wince at that. He hated more than he was willing to admit to her that she had 7 years left.

"Well, you better email your paper, we are leaving in an hour," he said.

"For what?" she asked wearily.

"New York," he said and grinned at her shocked face. She watched him walk out so she could change. She threw on some pants and a sweater and was surprised Reid had actually packed for her. She marched downstairs.

"What do you mean New York?" she asked. "What are you planning?"

"That's one way to kill a surprise," Patience said. They were all (Paul, Violet, Patience, Hope, and Reid) in the kitchen having various forms of breakfast.

"Wicked!" Hope said excitedly.

"Just like telling a 6 year old," Violet said laughing.

"Wicked?" Abigail asked confused.

"The play," he said. Her jaw dropped. "Really?" She asked excitedly making him glad he thought of it.

"Really. You ready?" he asked. He was surprised to find out she had never been to New York before (he asked Patience that morning) and made the decision right then and there. Within the hour they were ready.

"What brought this on? Honestly?" she asked as he drove them.

"You are a published author. You need to have a child in less than 7 years, you're going to be freakin' dead in 7 years," he said maneuvering through traffic easily. "Where do you want me to begin?" he said. "You never had a normal childhood, nothing fun. It's about time you lived life," he said determinedly. "And yes, your sisters– or at least the ones I could talk to this morning, so only Violet and Patience– are okay with this."

"You keep me on my toes," she said after a pause with a grin on her face.

"Good," he said with a cocky grin. "Now, how on earth did you get published at the age of 15?" he asked. She started telling him about her three books.

"I know Patience is the financial wiz in the coven," he said.

She nodded. "Being the eldest, she would naturally be in charge of the money, but she went beyond that into stocks and stuff. She's a genius. We've haven't lacked for money for the last several generations, but with what Patience has done, none of our future generations will have to worry either. Violet is the Arts and Crafts one, Hannah the athletic one, and Faith is the tech one."

The trip seemed to take no time at all. They spent the day looking around the city taking in the sights. He took her to the showing that night of WICKED! since he knew she loved it but had never seen it live. The spent all day Saturday out and about the city and caught another play that night.

They arrived back at Cambridge late Sunday. "You look like you had fun," Faith said when she came in. "I think someone's in love!" she teased.

"For better or for worse, yeah, I think I am," she said. "You're one to talk."

"Well? What happened between the two of you?" Faith asked excitedly as they sat in Abigail's room for some good, old-fashioned girl talk.

"What happens in New York stays in New York," she said evasively. "But WICKED was great!" She told her about the other places they had seen.

"I think I'll make Tyler take me somewhere too," Faith decided. "What's wrong?" she asked seeing Abigail heave a sigh.

"I . . . well, I did some thinking over the weekend. I don't want to loose him," she said.

"I know that. We are going to try everything we can . . ." Faith started.

"But what if we don't fix this? What if we aren't the generation to break this curse, assuming there _is_ a generation destined to break it?" Abigail asked.

"We have to be optimistic," Faith said trying not to think to hard on it. If she thought to long on it she began to think about her own predestined fate.

"I just . . . I want to give him as much time as possible. I don't want to rob him of his life, I mean, it's Reid! He has so much life in him. I never know what to expect, he has a way of making _me_ full of life," Abigail tried to explain. Faith squeezed her hand showing she understood what Faith was trying to say. "Well, I decided I'm not having my daughter yet. I'm going to wait until the last possible moment," she said.

"Never get to know her?" Faith asked only slightly shocked. Since Abigail and Faith's lines both died very young it had happened a few times where the daughters didn't get to know their birth mothers.

Abigail nodded. Faith wrapped her arms around her shoulders and held her. "I think I came to that decision without realizing it. I . . . well, I decided just to let things play out. If Tyler leaves me, abandons me, breaks my heart, . . . well, I wouldn't be the first," Faith said with a shudder.

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The week went by quickly and everyone was relieved things were finally settled between Reid and Abigail. She hated to see he made his decision, but she decided to follow his lead and be optimistic they would break the curse. She kept reminding herself she wasn't the first person in her family to have to watch their loved one die.

Thursday arrived and since lectures were cancelled the following day, Abigail drove to the Garwin Manor in Ipswich. She pulled up and walked in. "Hey," Reid said kissing her. She grinned. _Just don't think about what tomorrow starts,_ she told herself. He led her through the Manor to the parlor. When Reid started kissing her, she desperately wanted to forget what would start tomorrow.

No matter the fact Reid was a wonderful kisser, she couldn't get rid of the sense of dread that was building up in her abdomen. "You alright?" he asked. She nodded. "I'll get something to drink," he said getting up.

She hated to do this, leave in the middle of a make-out session, but the clock said it was 11:30 already. _I lost track of time,_ she thought. _Not surprising,_ she thought with a smile thinking of Reid. She grabbed her purse and with a wave of her hand a note appeared saying something came up and she had to leave. She rushed out to her car taking deep breaths trying to calm down.

_What was I thinking!_ she chided and then realized that she was never able to think clearly when Reid was concerned. _I need to get away– now._ The tires squealed on the gravel as she peeled down the driveway and into the Ipswich country side. _Deep breaths, in the __nose, out the mouth,_ she thought. She looked to see it was 11:40. _Twenty minutes, twenty minutes, I need time, I need to get there,_ she chanted. She kept chiding herself for thinking she could go out tonight. _You should have known better!_ she was glad it was a short drive to the Manor house since it was just across town in Ipswich.

Finally the Coven Manor house appeared and she pulled around back. She got out and took a deep breath. The smell from the grove of trees and the herb garden was always soothing. _I made it_, she thought relieved.

She quickly went inside, locking the doors, and went to make some tea.

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_Special thanks to all the reviewers! With school bogging me down even more they are great to look forward to! And to answer Christina's question, the other births she experienced were in the visions she has of the past/present relatives._


	17. The Prelude

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 14: The Prelude**

Reid came back in. "Abby?" He saw a note on the couch. Setting the sodas down he grabbed it. 

Furious he crumbled it in his hand. _Something came up? She had to prepare something?_ he thought furiously. _Fine, let her be that way,_ he thought. He heard the phone ringing and, hoping it would be Abigail explaining why she ran off, he picked it up.

"Hello?" he yelled.

"Hey man, don't need to yell," Pogue's voice came through. "Did I interrupt something?" he joked.

"I wish," Reid said seething. "Abby already left."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing! Why do you guys always assume _I_ did something? Anyways, she just bailed."

"She had to of had a good reason," Pogue said. "Don't ask me what, they seem to have thousands of secrets, but I'm sure she had a reason."

"Yeah, well, I'm beginning to think it's not worth it," Reid said.

There was a pause on the other side. Finally he heard Pogue chuckle. "Whatever," he said. "If I really believed that I'd will away my powers. Call her, see what came up. Maybe one of the kids got sick or something."

"There are 5 other people at the house to take care of them, and if it was something like that she would have told me," Reid said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Why did you call anyways?"

"Kate wanted us to go somewhere tomorrow, but I'll wait to see how you are doing with Abigail first," Pogue said and hung up.

Reid went out to his car. He decided a drive would do him good. Before he realized it, he was already in Cambridge, and had pulled up in front of the Victorian house. He knocked hoping someone was still up.

"Hey," Faith said. "So, you coming with us to Rockport tomorrow?"

"Where's Abby?" Reid asked.

"What . . . oh," Faith said as realization dawned on her. "She . . . she isn't feeling well. She isn't herself, so to speak. Give it some time and it will pass."

He looked at her and she almost flinched. "So she's not coming tomorrow?" Faith shook her head. He stormed back down the steps to his car.

They all met up at Caleb's manor house the next morning. "Abby's not coming?" Caleb asked. Faith shook her head.

"Still haven't talked to her?" Pogue asked surprised.

"Faith said she isn't feeling good," Reid said glaring at Faith.

"And you don't believe that?" Tyler asked defensively.

"Nothing against her, it's just they have a habit of not telling the complete truth," Reid said. They piled into Tyler's hummer while Caleb and Sarah followed in his car.

_Talk about feeling like the fifth wheel,_ he thought bitterly. They spent the day along the coast and arrived back around 8. "I don't think we did a good job of distracting him," Sarah said.

"I'm worried about Abby as well," Caleb said. They had just pulled in front of the Coven house in Cambridge to drop Faith off. Reid hoped out too.

"Reid!" Faith called out and chased after him to stop him but he was already up to the front door. He let himself in and rushed to Abby's room.

Just as he thought, she wasn't there, nor was there any sign she had been. Faith, Patience, Hannah, and Violet were at the doorway. "Where is she?" he looked at all 4 of them. "Why are you all here instead of the Coven Manor house?" he asked Patience and Violet wondering why they weren't at the Ipswich manor.

"I didn't lie," Faith said. "She isn't feeling well." She looked at her watch.

"In fact, by now, she won't be herself," Patience said sadly.

"Is she at the Coven manor house then?" Reid asked.

"Trust me, you don't want to be there," Hannah said. "It will break your heart."

"And there isn't anything you can do for her," Violet added.

"So you just leave her alone while she's sick?" Caleb asked from behind them.

"There is nothing we can do for her. It is coming up on her death day," Faith said.

"Death day?" Reid asked frightened. "Already?"

Patience led him out of the bedroom. She wasn't surprise to see the other guys following her too. "You know every year we experience . . . pain, depression, bad days, bad feelings, on our death days," Violet explained. "As a reminder and a warning of what happens."

"Each year as we get closer to our actual death day, it gets worse," Hannah added. "Except, oddly enough, our real death days are perfect . . ."

"Until we die," Faith deadpanned.

"But Abigail, well, her death days are different. Charlotte Danver was a seer. Something her descendants have inherited. But her death days are worse, it's hard to explain. It's almost like she channels her predecessors. She has visions of past and future experiences," Hannah said.

"Why?" Caleb asked. "Why are her death days different?"

"Charlotte was drugged," Patience said. "Faith's ancestor who died before her practically burnt down the entire town in her rage so the good people of Ipswich decided not to take any chances. She spent the last 2 days of her life in and out of it. Ever since then, her descendants have also had longer death days, harder death days, ones where they are literally out of it for 2 days."

"And there isn't anything we can do for them," Faith added sadly. "We have tried, for generations, but it is another thing we can't fix."

"Can't we help?" Caleb asked.

"How?" Hannah asked. "We have been trying for 300 years to find ways of helping her."

"So you don't even stay with her?" Reid demanded.

"She told us not to this year. Believe me, it breaks my heart. I saw it with her mom and now with her," Patience said. "We always have someone with her, take turns watching her since she can do harm while she is out of it, but she forbade any of us from coming."

Reid vanished in a swirl of cloud and smoke. "Great. He doesn't listen very well, does he?" Hannah said angrily.

"He's just worried," Pogue said. "He hasn't cared about someone like this before."

Caleb led Sarah and Kate out of the house and soon Pogue and Tyler followed. "So there isn't anything you can do?" Kate asked hopefully.

Pogue shook his head. "I don't know what Reid thinks he can do. I mean, they have had generations to work on this."

Reid arrived inside the Coven manor house. Except that it looked like someone had made tea, you wouldn't know anyone was in the house. He went up to Abigail's room, but it didn't look like anyone had been there. "Where are you Abby?" he wondered outloud. He walked around and was back on the first floor when he heard a door open. "Abby!"

"Reid?" She asked. "What are you doing here?"

She looked horrid, but he thought it best not to say anything. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked so pale. "Are you okay?"

"Considering I haven't slept a minute in the last 30 hours, peachy," she said. She grabbed another cup of tea. "I'm sorry I left like that," she said as she sipped the tea, "but now is not the best of times to rant and rave."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Rant and rave?"

"I know you're furious, and probably confused," she said drinking down another big sip of tea. "How much did they tell you?"

"They told me about your days," he said taking a seat across from her. "Why haven't you slept?"

"Honestly, I'm too afraid to," she said with a grin. "Sounds pathetic, but it's true."

"You don't seem surprised I'm here."

"I saw you were going to come," she said pouring another cup. "I haven't been sleeping, but I'm still have been fading out. You just happened to arrive during one of my lucid moments."

He waited for her to finish her cup of tea while trying not to let it show how much that statement freaked him out. "What are you going to do now?"

"Get my room ready, and then kick you out," she said with a grin. She walked down the hall to a closet. When she opened it he saw it was stalk full of candles of all sizes, colors, and scents. She grabbed an arm full and also grabbed some incense. She handed some to him to carry. He followed her to another room in the back. It was a room with wooden floors and a mattress made up in one part of the room. Brushes and charcoal were scattered across the floor along the walls, and so were several pencils, notepads, and pens.

"I tend to get in a frenzy," she said avoiding Reid's glance as she set candles and incense around the room. "Whatever I see, or do, or become, I tend to express it. Easiest way to record the premonitions, since I am not myself," she said. She had just set the last candle in place and suddenly they all were lighted. She turned to see a smirking Reid.

"I want to help," he said.

"Keep the using down!" she chided. "Besides, I don't know what you can do," she admitted. It was almost 10:30 and she took a seat on the mattress. "It starts soon," she said. She lied down next to Reid and was happy he put his arm around her waist as they lay down together. "I am so tired, but so afraid to sleep," she admitted.

"I'll be right here," he promised. She wasn't sure what he could do, but she trusted him and felt herself drift off to who knows what.

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_Special thanks to **cheyenne **(Thank you!!!!)**, EvilAngel** (your review made me smile! Thanks!) **Susangel **(I went _squee! _too : ) How to break the curse starts to reveal itself next chapter) **Christina** (even more will be revealed next chapter!) **mischiefLover** (it hasn't been explicitely said, but it is her death day. So glad you like it!) **ShadowWolfDagger **(Thank you for another wonderful review!)_


	18. The Revelation

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me.

Author's notes: I have to say, that when I wrote this opening line, I distinctly heard a combination of the voices of Elphaba and the Wicked Witch (from The Wizard of Oz), just so everyone understands where I was at when I wrote this : )

**Chapter 16: The Revelation**

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_It begins, my pretty. Pay attention. You shall be our vessel._

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Reid saw her fall asleep almost immediately. He knew she had to be exhausted, even if she hadn't admitted to not sleeping for nearly 2 days, it was evident.

It was only about an hour later when he woke up to Abigail tossing and turning, muttering in her sleep. "Abby," he whispered. She kept muttering things in her sleep until she finally fell back into a quiet slumber.

A half hour later she was up in the corner of the room. He walked up behind her and saw that her eyes were completely white as she started drawing something with the charcoal on the wall. Her hands practically flew over the scene, every once in a while she would stop to start writing down whatever she was chanting, and then return to the drawing. She continued this for an hour and then simply passed out where she was standing.

Reid reached out and caught her before she hit the floor. "Now I know why you dread this." He was frustrated he couldn't do anything. He was a man of action, and here he was helpless.

Not sure when she would wake up in another trance, he studied the drawing she had started. It was a scene of the outdoors– trees, flowers, clouds. He thought it looked familiar but he couldn't place it. _I'm not even sure if this is something from the past or the future_, he thought bitterly.

After sleeping fitfully for almost forty minutes, Abigail was up again, writing on one of the walls. "Do you think you'll know what this means when you wake up?" he asked. He wasn't sure if Abigail could understand him like this. She looked at him when he spoke, and acted like she was trying to listen, but didn't respond. She just went back to writing on the wall and chanting whatever it was she was writing. Reid kept talking, seeing if she would wake up out of whatever it was she was in, just enough to know he was there.

She made it back to the mattress before passing out again. He sat next to her. "I don't even know if you are even still in there," he muttered as he read what she had written all over the wall. Some was in English, some in Old English that he could decipher, but some he had no idea what she wrote.

Hours passed by as she continued in her trances throughout the rest of the day. After one last fitful rest she didn't even try to sleep anymore and Reid wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He wasn't sure what happened to her when she closed her eyes, but he knew it wasn't peaceful dreams.

She was in a frenzy as she continued to paint and draw across the walls. Some of it overlapped and he had no idea if she would remember doing any of this later. She just kept painting, drawing, writing, and chanting. Some things she wrote in the sketch pads and notebooks, others (the larger murals) on the walls.

"Abby, you sure you don't want anything to eat?" he asked. He had no idea when the last time she ate was. She would periodically take drinks of the tea that she had brought in with her the night before, but otherwise she had nothing. She just waved a hand dismissing his comment.

"Betrayal of the flesh, once done can still be made amends," she said looking at the first drawing she had done. "Betrayal shall find retribution, but revenge is not sweet. Amendments must be made, to save all," she said.

"What?"

"Idiocy has a trait in your family," she remarked. "Rather fact, the male genes in general, a trait all through these years. So many years," she said looking at the drawing. "One will end it, one can end it. One act, one redemption, one time, one try."

"So there will be a chance?" he asked. He wished Caleb was here.

"Always chances, always failures so far," she said with a sad look on her face. "One lost, thought gone. Shadow figure in my mind has appeared. One thought gone but has returned, with even more anger. Vengeance, if gained, could prove to the ruin of all," she said.

"Abby," he said grabbing her hand, "who is it?"

"One accounted for dead, come back!" she called out, as if trying to summon someone. She jumped to her feet. "No!" She yelled and started writing all over the drawing of the outdoor scene. "Fault! Fault!" she screamed as slashed at the paintings with her brushes like a Pollock possessed with demons battling inside her. When she had finished she gave a cry of agony and collapsed.

Reid placed her on the mattress and hoped she could get some sleep. "That was the last of it," Patience said from the doorway. "It is 5:38, it always ends at this time."

She stepped into the room and looked around. "Sweet heavens, she did all this?" she gasped as she looked around. She reached for her cell and called the other girls, who arrived moments later.

"Sweet mother of earth, she has been busy!" Hannah declared. "Look at this!" she said pointing to the wall of words. "She has never had so many incantations before."

"No one has," Patience said. "I have never heard of one of them being so . . . productive."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at how much she has done!" Violet said. "No one has ever done so much. You can't even see the walls behind everything she wrote and drew." They looked over the walls as Reid called Caleb. A moment later Caleb arrived along with Pogue and Tyler.

"What the heck?" Pogue said. "What is all this?"

They all led them into the large kitchen as the girls got them all drinks explaining it. Reid told them what happened while she was out of it. "So there is a way to fix this?" Pogue asked as Reid repeated the prophecy she said at the end. "One chance," he said thinking.

"Who could this 'one' be though?" Tyler asked. "One thought gone?"

"More importantly," Reid said, "What do we do? We know there is a way to fix this, to save them, so what do we do instead of just sitting around here?"

"Always was one for action, huh?" Violet asked Pogue who nodded.

"Call me crazy, but I don't want to just sit around so she can go through this seven more times," Reid said angrily and his eyes flared coal black. The tension and worry he had experience the last twenty four hours was dangerously close to manifesting itself.

"Hey, none of us like this!" Hannah declared angrily stepping forward. Her eyes flared pure white as she got defensive. "You see this _once_, we have watched Abby go through this for _years_, not to mention _all_ of our death days. She almost killed herself 2 years ago when she was in one of her rages." She looked at Reid who had gone pale at the last part of her sentence.

"It is time to be _smart_, not active. We need to plan what to do, what her latest visions mean. When she wakes up she can tell us more . . . hopefully," Faith, who had also pulled her power to her defensively, spoke up trying to keep the peace. She looked around and she saw that everyone in the kitchen had summoned their power—either offensively or defensively it wasn't clear. If the situation wasn't so dire she would have thought all the black and white eyes would have been nice. It had been centuries since this many people with power had been together.

Patience shook her head and the irises started to slowly appear again in her eyes. "I don't know. She has never remembered before. She is always so out of it during the day she doesn't remember anything except for any last visions she has at night."

"She seemed to recognize me," Reid said.

"I'm sure you think she did," Violet said sympathetically.

Reid gave her a snide look. "I know what happened in there," he started, but before he could say anything else he was cut off with a loud piercing scream coming from where Abigail was sleeping. For a split second they all exchanged looks and then took off towards her room.

"Abby? Honey?" Patience said coming in first. Her maternal instincts had kicked in and her power flared back up ready to battle whatever may appear "What was it?"

Abigail was clutching the sheet to her chest– not out of modesty but fear. "Chase!" she said panting. "Dear sweet heavens above, Chase!"

"Chase?" everyone repeated.

"Where is it . . ." she said getting up and rushing around the room. "Not here, he's not here, not right now anyways," she said looking over the walls. She had to suppress her gasp of surprise. "I did all this?" she asked bewildered. "Wow," she said and seemed to have forgotten what she was originally doing, she was so lost in shock over seeing her own work. "Anyways, I saw the fight between him and Caleb," she said looking over her walls, studying them, looking for something. "The night of Caleb's ascension," she continued dazed.

"What about it?" Caleb asked.

"He didn't die," she stated matter of factly. "He's alive, somewhere."

"What?!" everyone shouted.

"He's alive. It took him ages to heal," she continued. "It is only recently he is recovered. He has a scar along his back from his left foot up to his waist, but he is better. And pissed off."

"That's not surprising," Pogue said.

"Don't tell me we have to kill him again," Reid said earning glares from all the Coven girls.

"You won't kill him again unless you want to join him!" Hannah hissed.

"Stop with the Using!" Abigail chided as she clutched her head as another vision washed over her. _Ipswich. It all happened in Ipswich. I won't let them get to Hannah like they tried to get to me_ Chase's voice whispered in her head. "We can't kill him. We have to find him . . . he'll probably find us, or at least you guys," Abigail said. "We need him."

"The one lost?" Tyler asked tentatively. Abigail nodded.

"Shit," Caleb said.

"Where is he?" Hannah pleaded. "I've felt him."

"When?" Patience asked confused.

"A few times in the last two months," she said. "Like before I didn't know it was him, since I thought he was dead."

"Before?" Pogue asked.

"He would sometimes project himself around me," Hannah said. "That is, before he died. Since we didn't know he was A Son, I didn't know it was him. I thought it was a ghost haunting the place."

"Like what he did to Sarah in the bathroom," Caleb decided. "Do we really have to save him?"

"Saving him will save yourselves," Abigail said. "You'll be a full coven again once you are reunited."

"No offense Abby, but I highly doubt Chase cares about being a full coven, or living harmoniously with us," Reid said.

"He doesn't . . . but he will," Abigail decided. "Ah! Here it is," she said finding a scrap of paper she had scribbled on.

"2?" he asked reading over her shoulder. The number was scrawled over and over again by Abigail but in several different handwritings which furthered confirmed his idea that it wasn't always Abby during her trances. She turned it over to read the back. "2 families, 2 covenants."

"We need 2 full covenants," Abigail said. "We can't wait for baby Chase to grow up to fill in your line, we won't be ready since most of us will be gone," she gestured to her, Faith, and Hannah.

"So we need to find Chase," Violet said speaking up. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Abigail said with a shrug. "If I saw it, I don't remember."

"I'm sure if we give a couple of weeks he'll find us," Pogue said sarcastically.

"Okay, so we have a plan," Patience said making everyone look at her. "Find Chase, cure him, force him to work with us if necessary, then . . .I'm not sure, but it's a good start anyhow."

Abigail continued to look around at everything she had drawn. "Do you remember anything?" Violet asked.

"Not a lot. The Chase stuff was just right now so it's fresh in my mind," she said. She stared at the mural she had first done of a place outdoors. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself for the moment. Hannah looked at her, knowing she was thinking something, but didn't press the issue in front of so many people. If Abigail didn't want to tell them yet, she would wait.

Abigail materialized out, deciding she wanted the privacy of her bedroom instead of being surrounded by everyone and the ghosts of her premonitions. Reid materialized out after her. "Well, . . . Hope is going to be hungry," Patience said and materialized out with the others leaving after her.

"You alright?" Reid asked as he appeared in Abigail's room. She nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his lips. He never broke the kiss as he led her to the bed.

_**zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_

_Author's Notes: a huge, huge thank you to everyone who reviewed! It was the most reviews for a single chapter for this story! Yay!!! **Water Goddess** thank you, and I am glad I created sympathy for her! **MischiefLover**__That is something I love about Reid, too : ) I see all of The Sons as being devoted, just in different ways (as Reid described : ) **Emma Louise** hopefully I didn't keep anyone waiting to long! Thank you! **EvilAngel** hopefully it didn't disappoint! Thanks! **Cheyenne** I am so glad! That is what I was going for! Thank you! **VegasValentine** You just inflated my ego! Thank you! **anangelwithnoname** I hope this was soon enough : ) **Susangel** The review was lovely! (and defintely not short!) Thanks! So now they know at least what they need to break the curse, if not _how_ to per se, yet . . . lol. **ShadowWolfDagger** Thank you!!!!_


	19. Misunderstandings

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 17: Misunderstandings**

Reid woke up the next morning wondering what to expect next. He saw that Abigail was still sleeping peacefully so he went to get something to eat. "How is she doing?" Sarah asked meeting him in the kitchen.

"She is still sleeping heavily, but I don't think she is seeing anything," he said. He was slightly surprised when Sarah hugged him.

"It must have been hell seeing that," she said. "Don't forget you have us. And they have us now, too."

"We know," Hannah said walking in with baby Chase in her arms. Faith came in a moment later with baby Isabel. "Just so you know, Reid, Abby is going to sleep for the next . . . 18 hours," she said looking at the clock. "She usually sleeps for two days after her death day. She might longer this time since so much happened." She gave him a warm smile. "I didn't want you to freak out any more."

He nodded and to Hannah's surprise took baby Chase from her so she could get some coffee and breakfast. "I still can't get over what she said," Faith said as she took a seat at the table next to Reid. "We are going to see your daddy again!" she told Isabel who gurgled happily.

"He looks like him," Reid said looking at baby Chase. "Except he has your smile," he told Hannah making her laugh. They all ate breakfast together, including Kate who came down in time before leaving for class. Afterwards he went back up to Abigail's room.

"I don't know what he plans on doing in her room for 2 days while she sleeps," Faith muttered.

Hannah simply smiled. "I have classes the same time as Abby today, can you do it?"

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Two days later Reid was sitting in Abigail's room as she slept when the door opened and Abigail walked in. He jumped to his feet and was about to shoot off some Power when Abigail laughed and her appearance morphed into Faith. "Sorry!" she said putting her hands up defensively. "I forgot! You didn't know. Sorry!"

"What the hell?"

"Same reaction as Tyler and Caleb," Faith said laughing. "Long story. Anyways, has she woken up yet?"

"Not . . ." Reid started but was interrupted when Abigail stretched and started to sit up. "Yes."

"Abby!" Faith said happily and bounced over onto her bed. She gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I thought you would sleep longer. You want some tea?"

"Please!" Abigail said, her throat dry as cotton dust. "And something to eat. I feel famished." Faith nodded and shut the door behind her but not before she laughed and said, "any rumors you hear about you kissing Tyler, just ignore."

"What?" Abigail asked confused. "What happened while I was asleep?"

"I have no idea," Reid said shaking his head. "I love Tyler like a brother, but you kiss him and I will kill him. You are finally awake," Reid said with a grin.

"What day is it?" she asked trying to brush her hair with her fingers thinking it was probably filthy.

"You look fine," Reid said taking a seat.

"Don't lie. I haven't showered in over3 days, and my hair is a mess. And I probably traumatized you. What spooked you a moment ago?" she asked. It was the first thing she felt when she woke up.

"You walking into your room?"

"Huh? Oh," she said and laughed. "Faith? They take turns being me when I am gone like this. It was hard to explain why I would be gone for a week, especially the same week every year, so one of them goes around being me."

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked curiously.

She nodded. "Most of it. I don't remember everything I saw during the day . . ." she trailed off and he didn't push it. "I think I am going to go eat. You look almost as bad as I do," she teased. "Why don't you shower? Or hang out with the other Sons doing whatever it is guys do?"

"Kicking me out already?"

"I want to take a nice long bath, pig out, and probably get caught up on my work. I highly doubt Faith and Hannah did my school work," she said making a face that made Reid laugh.

"I'll come back by later. Caleb wanted to know when you woke up, anyways. What is going on between you to?"

"Ah, jealous?" she teased making him glare and declare he would kill Caleb and Tyler. "I prefer blondes, even if he does have a gorgeous smile," she laughed. "Nothing. We are just friends. And family," she added. "I think . . . well, I like knowing that I can get along with the other Danvers. It just feels right. I mean, you and Faith seem to get along pretty good, too," she pointed out. "And so do Tyler and Patience, and Pogue and Violet. The bigger question is what is going on between Caleb and _you_?" she asked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he said shaking his head and disappearing. She brushed her hair and headed down to get some much needed food. After raiding the fridge she headed into the parlor.

"What didn't you tell us?" Hannah asked Abigail when she walked into the living room and it was just Abigail, Faith, and Hannah.

"First, what is this about me kissing Tyler?" she demanded making Hannah goggle her and Faith laugh.

/Flashback\\\\\\\\\

Tyler had just left Caleb, who was running to class with Sarah, and was heading to the commons to kill time between classes when he spotted Abigail walking across the lawn speaking with the professor of her English class. "Abby?" he called out and joined them. "how are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks Tyler. Thank you Professor Jameson," she added as the professor excused himself.

"I thought you would be in bed longer," he said. "Where's Reid?"

"What are you doing here Tyler?" she yelled making Tyler jump. Abby had never acted like this before.

"Sorry, I was just shocked is all."

"You almost blew it! I was with a professor for crying out loud!"

"Uh, sorry?" he said not sure what he was apologizing for but deciding to just go with the flow and see what the hell was wrong with Abby.

Abigail laughed. "You are to sweet for your own good, you know that?" Abigail said and to his shock she leaned forward and kissed him full on the mouth.

He pulled back quickly. "What the hell!" he yelled making Abigail blink. "What is going on Abigail?" Abigail looked shocked for a moment and burst into laughter. "This isn't funny. I am with Faith. I like you as a friend and everything but what are you thinking?"

She grabbed his hand and led him off to a secluded area where they wouldn't be seen or heard. "What is with you? Is insanity part of the after affects of your deathday?"

"Hardly," Abigail said, and before his eyes streaks of brown shot through her long blonde hair until it was the chestnut brown, shoulder length of Faiths. She grew an inch and her body started to change into that of Faiths.

"What is going on?" he demanded when Faith stood before him where Abigail had been a moment before.

"Shh, sorry, I forgot for a moment I was Abigail when I kissed you." He didn't look convinced. "It really is me. Abigail is still in bed, and Reid is still probably looking over her. We couldn't pry him out of the room with a crowbar if we wanted to."

"Why are you being her?"

"Her English professor emailed last night saying he had to meet with her before class today about her midterm. It sounded serious, and I was afraid if she didn't show she would get in worse trouble. Hannah had class at the same time, so I said I would do it. One of us almost always pretends to be her since she is gone for a whole week with her death day."

"So what was this? Some sort of test? See if I enjoyed kissing someone else? If I would cheat on you?"

"No!" Faith said appalled he would think that. "I would never do that!"

"Really? Because you always seem to be waiting, Faith. Waiting for me to do something, or not do something. Waiting for me to just disappear or something. It's one thing to get it from the guys, but another when I am constantly getting it from you."

"What are you talking about? I would never do that! I just forgot for a minute I was Abigail, and when I kissed you, that was _me_. It wasn't a test! It was just me wanting to kiss you!"

"As if I don't get enough crap from the guys," he grumbled.

"What?"

"I know how it is with us. They have a tendency to be very dismissive of me, you know how it is. Sure, they looked out for me, protected me, but they always see me as the youngest and weakest of the group, and subconsciously that makes me less worthy or something."

"I don't think of you in that way at all," she said grabbing his hands. "I highly doubt they do, too. I see the kindest, most sympathetic person I have ever met. Grant it, I don't have a ton of experience with guys, I tended to avoid them thinking of them all as potential heartbreak—

"You still do, Faith," Tyler said sadly.

She made him face her. "I am still afraid, yes. 18 years of fear doesn't go away overnight, but I am learning, Tyler. You are teaching me," she said. "I can't honestly see myself even willing to try with anyone else. And the other Sons? Caleb is to serious, Pogue to protective, and Reid to wild. I couldn't handle being with any of them. And I doubt they think of you that way! If they did, I would hurt them," she declared making him grin. She leaned in and kissed him again, this time as herself. "If I did see you do this with Abigail, I would kill her. And then you," she warned.

/end flashback\\\\\\\\\\\\

By the time Faith had finished her story, Hannah was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. Abigail was simply staring at her with her jaw hanging open. "So, what didn't you tell us?" Faith asked changing the subject.

Abigail waited for Hannah to catch her breath as she sobered up. "The boys aren't ready to hear it yet, I doubt they are ready to work with Chase yet," Abigail said.

"But we have to!" Faith said. "Surely they will understand that!"

"In all fairness, Chase did attack them," Abigail said.

"But that wasn't him," Hannah said defensively.

Abigail nodded. "I know, the power is messed up. What is important now is that Chase doesn't remember what he did," Abigail said. "I saw him, after the explosion, taken to a hospital. He was there for a long time recovering, and has only just recently been back to normal. He doesn't remember _he_ attacked _them,_ and more importantly, he doesn't remember he was after Caleb's power," Abigail said sipping her tea.

"He doesn't?" Hannah said disbelievingly. "What does he remember?" she was afraid he didn't remember them.

"He remembers us," Abigail reassured her, "and fighting Caleb, I think he thinks Caleb attacked him," Abigail said.

"Great, that is so not helpful," Faith muttered as she bit into her toast. "So we need to find Chase and explain to him who we are, who he and the other boys are, the whole history . . ."

"We still don't know how to find him."

"I think he has been here," Hannah said as she rocked Isabel. "Now that I know he was alive, I think it's been him. I've felt his presence before, and it's just like when he did it last year."

"Exactly when did you feel his presence before Caleb's ascension?" Faith asked curiously as she played with baby Chase in his crib.

"After Chase's ascension I felt him often, especially after we slept together. I could almost feel his . . . hatred, or jealousy that I was pregnant. I don't think he knows they are his," she said.

"How would he?" Abigail said.

Hannah nodded. "I know, and in hindsight, maybe if I had told him things would have been different after his ascension," she said sadly.

"You can't change what happened, Hannah," Faith said squeezing her hand. "You are not responsible for his actions. It's the bloody Power."

"But that, with this curse, is also our fault too," Hannah said.

"If you want to blame anyone, blame our mothers," Abigail said. "I think they knew Chase was a son, and wanted him out of the house before he got his powers. That's why he left right before his thirteenth birthday."

"That's horrible!" Hannah declared. "We could have helped him! Explain things to him, teach him how to be responsible with the Using and not to be addicted."

"We have a lot to atone to from our parents generation," Faith said sadly. Something jolted in Abigail as some part of her death day started to come back to her. She barely heard Faith say, "Will it never end?"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

_more Tyler and Faith in the next chapter! And Chase makes his first appearance soon I think. . ._

_Special thanks to **Anangelwithnoname** (Ah, glad you liked the twist!) **Evil Bunny of Death **(Love the name, btw! So glad you like it!) **Susangel** (thank you so much! I loved your review. Yes, I think his anger was directed in the wrong way, and he simply didn't understand any of it since he had no one around to explain it to him. : ) **ShadowWolfDagger** (Thank you for always reviewing!) **Mischieflover** (My head exploded! Thank you! After a bad day, your review made me laugh and smile : ) Thanks! Hopefully you will like this chapter too!)_


	20. Familial Solidarity

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

_Just a few quick reminders: Charolotte and Charles were the original Danvers way back when, and of the family pairings are: Faith/Reid are Garwins, Abigail/Caleb are Danvers, Tyler/Patience are Simms, Hannah/Chase are Putnams, and Pogue/Violet are Parry's . . ._

**Chapter 18: Familial Solidarity**

She felt stupid. She should have run the idea by Abigail like she always did, or Violet who had experience with guys. But she didn't and she couldn't remember how she convinced herself not to.

Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door to Tyler's dorm room. She waited patiently and ignored the catcalls from the guys walking by in the hall.

Just her luck, Reid opened the door. He smirked at her. "Are you going to morph into Abigail again?" he teased. She rolled her eyes.

Reid looked over his shoulder to Tyler working at his desk. "Hey Tyler, I am going to head out for a bit," he said winking at Faith and headed out, grabbing his laptop. She took it as Garwin solidarity and smiled when he walked past her.

"Sure, whatever man," Tyler said finishing his paper that was due that afternoon. He happened to look up at the door as Reid shut it and was started to see Faith there. "Hey," he said going back to his paper.

She sighed. This wouldn't be easy. "I brought you something," she said and showed him the flowers she had behind her back.

He grinned and had to stop himself from laughing. "You brought me flowers?"

"I thought . . . I know you are still mad at me, and I wanted to say I am sorry, and they were pretty, and . . ." she stopped seeing as how she was babbling. Tyler simply looked at her waiting for her to finish so she took a deep breath. "I always get looped together with Abigail."

"What?"

"I'm not the youngest, like you are, but Abigail and I are so close together we always got lumped together. I am only 7 weeks older than her so everything was always 'Faith and Abigail, Abigail and Faith.' Sometimes, well actually a lot of the time, Hannah was tossed in, too, since she is only a year older than us. I know what it's like to feel insignificant, not an individual," she said looking at the flowers she still held. "I didn't ever mean to make you feel like that," she said looking at him.

"You don't do that, like the guys," he clarified, "but you aren't always _here _Faith."

"I know, but it is also because I know until this curse is gone something bad will happen between us. You might not mean for it to, I sure as hell don't want it to, but it will. It's fine if you don't believe in destiny, but Fate is still there waiting to kick all of us in the ass whether you believe in it or not," she tried to explain.

He ran his hands through his hair looking at the paper he had to finish. "I'll let you finish," she said.

"No, wait," he said closing his laptop. "I know you do, and I think there is more to what is going on between Reid and Abigail than he has told me—and he tells me everything, mind you," he added. "I know that this curse is still there, but I just can't imagine it causing me to do anything you keep imagining."

"You can't imagine it now, but something will happen unless we stop the curse," she said setting the flowers down. "Sometimes I wonder who is worse, me or Abby," she admitted. She didn't say anything about Reid's fate—that was for him to disclose. But while Abby had always worked so hard to make sure no one loved her, she had worked so hard to make sure she loved no one. "For guys who are hardly ever here, your room is a pigsty," she commented making him laugh. He saw gold flash through her eyes and a moment later clothes were flying around into laundry baskets, back into drawers, beds made.

"You busy tonight?" he asked randomly.

"No, why?"

"I need your help shopping," he said with a grin. "Let me finish this paper and I'll pick you up later tonight, we can eat and shop, how about that?"

"You said the magic word," she said grinning. She moved the flowers to the windowsill and kissed him goodbye. He looked at the flowers after she left and shook his head, grinning. He knew Reid would give him flack for it, but didn't care.

Tyler parked along the curb and walked up, thinking how with this early winter the steps would get icy. He figured he and the other guys would put in some time shoveling snow. He was momentarily surprised to find Patience sitting on the front porch with cup of coffee and a baby monitor overlooking the scenery. "Patience, what are you doing here?" he wondered since she usually spent most of the week in Ipswich.

"The twins are sick, so I told Hannah I would babysit while she had classes today since it is her first final."

"What about Hope? Do you need me to check on her?"

That actually made Patience smile. "No, but thank you. Violet said he would pick her up after school. What brings you here?"

"Faith."

Patience laughed and he thought it was drastically different from when he first met her. He noted that she hardly laughed or smiled, especially compared to the other girls. He leaned against the porch railing. "Is everything okay? You looked . . .depressed."

Patience sighed. It was odd, confessing to Tyler. Especially since he was the other Simms. "Abigail's death days always make me depressed. Knowing she has 6 more, that I have 10 more."

"What was it like, growing up and knowing your life was planned out for you?"

"Weird, I guess. Yet normal. Normal for us, anyways. I always felt bad for Abigail and Faith. They hardly had time at all with their mothers."

"And you?" he knew the basics, but he enjoyed talking with Patience.

"I was seventeen, just as Hope will be. I planned everything very carefully. Don't get me wrong, I love Hope with my entire being, I can't imagine my life without her. I just made sure I didn't have her too early, or too late. Something she will learn, as my mother did, and so on."

"Why? I know you didn't expect to marry or anything like that, but why the careful planning?"

"Our line, The Simms, have the longest life span, so more is demanded of us. Abigail was seven and Faith was nearly eight when their mother's died. Hannah was around ten. Violet and I were older. She was thirteen and I was seventeen. I was old enough to watch over, finish raising them. Hope will have to be, as well. Especially since it looks as if Abigail is set on waiting as long as possible to have her daughter."

"How can you expect so much out of her? How could so much be expected out of you? Didn't it frighten you?"

"Of course, but not to abandon or betray them. Enough to make sure I _didn't_ leave them. To continue trying to break the curse."

He looked over the scenery as she did while waiting on Faith. It seemed odd to him that they were both from the same line, and he knew from all of their conversations that they had a lot in common, yet were also so drastically different. He was always the one being looked out for, the baby; Patience was always the one doing the protecting and mothering. "I think it's a shame the two lines didn't get to know each other before," he said. "We could have learned a lot from each other."

"Yes, maybe stopped this sooner. But maybe we weren't meant to." She saw the way his face lighted up when Faith came out and they walked to wherever they were going. For a moment she was jealous that Faith had the chance to take that risk, have someone to be there for her incase they did break the curse.

Then thought, no matter how much she liked Tyler, she would be the dutiful older sister and would rip his heart out if and when he broke Faith's.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

He took her to a cozy little café in downtown Boston. "Am I forgiven?" she asked. It had been bugging her all day.

"If you can get Abigail to give Reid flowers," he grinned. He placed his hand over hers on the table while they waited for the waiter. "I can't stay mad at you long, not when you do stuff like that. For the record, though, the guys are going to give me flack for this gender-role-reversal."

She grinned and blushed. "I wasn't sure, I told you I'm new at this," she stammered and he gave her an easy grin.

"I didn't say I didn't appreciate it," he pointed out making her face light up with happiness.

"I can con Abby, Sarah, and Kate into doing something equally girly for them, how about that? So what are we shopping for?"

"Patience's birthday is in a few weeks, right?" he asked and she nodded. "I have no idea what to get her," he confessed. "What do you guys do for birthdays?"

She shrugged. "The usual. Cake, presents. We don't make a big thing out of them."

"Why not?"

"Well, 7 is important since that is when we Ascend, but after that it is simply a reminder we are one year closer to the last one," she said absently stirring her drink with her straw. "Deathdays usually have more . . . not celebration, we don't celebrate them, but more emphasis placed on them since they are so bad."

"All the more reason to celebrate the birthday," he said.

"Yay, she is one year closer," she said sarcastically.

"Maybe we need to stop looking at it that way," he suggested.

"We simply don't know how else to look at them. At least Patience has a lot of years left yet," she said and then smiled at the waiter when he brought their food. "But as for gifts . . . hmm, I know of a few things she wants. Abby and I were thinking of splurging for male strippers," she said with a serious tone and was glad to see him choke on his water. "Hot, European strippers, yummy!" she said as she dug into her food.

He wasn't' sure if the yummy was for the food or the strippers, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. She broke into laughter. "it's killing you, I can see it on your face. I wonder what Pogue's reaction is going to be when he finds out? Kate and Sarah are invited, too," she said gleefully.

"Pogue might go crazy and start hexing all males within a three mile radius," he joked. "And I don't think Reid or Caleb will be much better."

"Ah, and you would be perfectly fine with this whole thing?"

"You know what they say about being wary of the quiet one," he said sexily. "I'm secure enough in both of us—and if one of them tries to steal you from me there would be some missing reports filed," he said, the dark tone underlying his casual answer. An idea started floating in his head. "I think I have an idea . . . ."

_vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv_

On the way to the library Reid ran into Sarah. "Hey, want to grab a coffee?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, not in any hurry to study. "What' s up?"

"Oh, Abigail stole Caleb, so I thought I'd steal you," she said nonchalantly.

"What?" Reid demanded.

"They are having lunch, Reid, not eloping," Sarah said rolling her eyes. "He always takes her to lunch on campus before their English class."

Reid thought how he should have taken English with her, too. The one class he didn't have with her, and Caleb did. Figures. "Hey, no thoughts like that, okay?" Sarah said grabbing his hand. "It written all over your face. Nothing is happening between them. Do you think I'd let it?" she pointed out. "you can't be with her 24/7, Reid."

"I know, I just didn't know they ate together 3 days a week," Reid mumbled.

"She probably thought you'd fight Caleb, or go over protective on her. Wonder why she thinks that," Sarah said with a laugh. "So why were you, of all people, heading to the library?" she asked curiously.

(_change of scene . . .)_

"So Faith still feels like she angered Tyler and she has been worrying for the past few days how to apologize," Abigail said when they found a table.

"He has seen a little more withdrawn than normal," Caleb said as he took the chair opposite her. "Do you know what happened?"

She shook her head. "All she mutters is something about being as bad as The Sons," Abigail said with a shrug. "But," she said with a wicked grin, "I saw her leave the house with a bouquet of flowers," she said and Caleb grinned that grin she thought was adorable.

"No way."

"Don't you dare tease either of them," she threatened good naturedly. "She was nervous enough about not knowing how to apologize."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Not a word. Pogue might give him flack for it," he added.

"I'll just talk Kate into giving Pogue flowers. Something really girly, too," she said with a laugh. "I'll be so glad when this semester is done," Abigail said snagging a fry from Caleb's plate.

"Tell me about it. The books have been ridiculously boring," Caleb said mournfully. "Not taking him again."

"Goes without saying," Abigail said digging into her bookbag. "Next weeks," she said handing the book to him. They split the booklist, each buying half and rotated them back and forth. They had another 30 minutes to kill so they just relaxed at their table since the weather was turning nasty outside. She went up to the counter and came back with two of the large cookies and handed him one. Caleb may always buy lunch, but she bought dessert.

"Sometime I want to see your Book of Damnation," she whispered as they finally braved the weather and headed to class.

"Sure. Whenever you want," he agreed. He held the door to the building open for her and quickly followed her in. "It might snow. Again. When has it ever snowed this much this early in December?" he wondered.

"Makes spending the night in front of a fire seem romantic _and_ practical," she said taking her seat before class.

Later that night she found herself doing just that. "Do you remember anything?" Reid asked as she cuddled closer. They decided the Garwin estate provided the most privacy since his mother was visiting with Tyler's mother and were currently in front of the fire they had built in the parlor.

"To much, and not enough," she admitted. "It is like I am not myself, but this time was so much stronger," she whispered. "I feel like something important was revealed but I just can't remember what!" she said frustrated.

"Maybe you'll see it again later," he said. Not that he particularly wanted her to.

"I don't know," she sighed and stretched out before the fire. "I think it has something to do with Charlotte."

"The original Danvers woman?"

"Yeah. There is something about her and Charles. I think. Ugh, I don't know. I just know it's strange I've never experienced her death."

"What?"

"I've experienced the deaths of all the other women, the original Daughters, except her. I don't know why. Or if I have, I don't remember it."

"Honestly, I don't like the idea of you seeing any of it."

She grinned. "Who ever likes it?" she said and rolled over to stare at the fire. "I think I felt _something_ of it during the last death day," she admitted. "What else did I say besides the prophecy?"

"Fault," Reid said slowly. "You yelled 'Fault! Fault!' right before the end."

Shivers tingled down her spine when he said that and a jolt of near recognition hit her. "I saw something, or felt something."

"Is it important?"

"Everything is important!" she chided good naturedly. "Especially since we are so close to breaking this."

"Hey, I didn't mean anything," he said throwing his hands up in surrender. He had stretched out opposite her in front of the fire so they faced each other.

"I want to see your sanctuary," she said. "The cave, and your Book of Damnation," she said suddenly.

"Alright," he said. "Why hasn't it ever come up before?" he wondered. "I'll call Caleb. When do you want to see it?"

"Tonight," she decided, not caring how late it was. "But don't call Caleb, I asked him earlier today, I am still shaky around to much power after the other day," she admitted. He nodded and they took his car. He led her down the stairs and she thought briefly it was a bit like a creepy old horror film. Then the fire and candles lighted when they walked in reaffirming her thoughts.

"Why am I not surprised. Ours is in a nice library, plenty of open air and windows, you guys have a dark, dank cave. Batman fans?" she teased making him smirk.

"It's on Danvers property so take it up with Caleb," he explained with a shrug but she saw the laughter in his eyes. He watched her as she walked around studying the place.

"Needless to say, never understood the use of skulls as decoration," she sniffed and made a point of not looking anywhere with them. She found several books that would be interesting to read but skipped to the Book of Damnation. "I have a feeling that I will hate them all even more so after reading this," she sighed. She placed it in the center and took a seat next to Reid.

"It's just not right," she sighed as she slammed the book shut.

"You already knew that," he pointed out. "They didn't tell the complete truth, as you all showed us."

"No, that's not what I meant," she said as she went to look at more books. "I just felt like something here would remind me of what I am missing about Charlotte. Maybe something about Charles, but nothing." She grabbed the diary of Putnam which made her think of Hannah and Chase. "Poor Chase," she muttered.

"Be careful who you say that around," Reid cautioned.

"I know it is hard for you guys, but it is hard for us, too. He really was a part of our family for so long, and meant a lot to all of us in different ways. Hannah is beside herself now, hoping to bring him back to the way he use to be. Bring everything back to the way things use to be."

"Can we?"

"Go back to the way things were when we were kids? Hardly. Too much has happened. For starters, he has discovered he has power. And he is going to have to learn that not only do we have power, but we did when he lived with us and that we hid it."

"I'll talk to Caleb about Chase," Reid said studying her. "Maybe there is a way to find him—before he finds us," he added.

"Hmm," she said as an idea floated through her mind. She touched the diary of Charles Danvers and a shiver went down her spine. "Definitely something," she whispered. Louder she said, "I think sometime I want to come here with Caleb, maybe all of you, all of us," she said. "When I feel up to being around so much power. Next week?"

"Whenever you want," he said. "I'll tell Caleb." She smiled as she took his hand and walked back up the stairs with him.

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_I just want to give a huge, HUGE thank you to all of my readers! I never imagined this story would be as successfull as it is! And special thanks to **Susangel** (Ah, I am glad you liked it! Just had to put in more Tyler/Faith), **ShadowWolfDagger** (lol, so glad it went over well! One of those things that just hit me last minute, he-he), **MischiefLover **(Ah, thank you! Yes, Chase and the other Sons are going to have issues. And Chase and the Daughters will have slight issues, we will see that soon . . .) **EvilAngel** (thank you! Author's never get tired hearing that : ) **CSIMiamiLover **(LOL, I hope you liked this chapter. I love them too!) **AnAngelWithNoName** (Well, the traumatic incident gave him slight amnesia, which will hopefully make things interesting in the future :) _


	21. Remembering

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 19: Remembering, At Last**

Abigail made it home later and snuck in so as not to wake anyone. Her head had barely touched her pillow when she felt being pulled in. It almost felt like drowning, she couldn't catch her breath, and couldn't get her bearings. The fact her dreams and visions were never like this outside her death day frightened her.

_'You KNEW!' The accusation was hurled, sharp as a knife._

_'I made a choice, would you rather I had chosen to sacrifice you?'  
__  
'What about when the time comes? You know they are coming, you have seen it just as I. Yet you do nothing! Have _done_ nothing!'  
__  
'So Henry was nothing!? I did it for you! He would have chosen it if he knew. He would have willingly died for you if asked.'  
__  
'Why do any of us have to!? Why not stop it when it first began, when they first turned to Remembrance? We all just sat and did nothing.'  
__  
'What did you expect us to do?' the voice sneered.  
__  
'_We _saw. You and I. This hangs on both of us.'  
__  
'No. You may have seen that, I have only seen this,' he lied. 'I try to do something and you despise me for it.'  
__  
'My husband's death was help? How does that help any of us? Help me or my child? Any of the next generation? Any of the four motherless daughters now hiding in the woods where even their uncles do not know of their existence?' she challenged. He stubbornly refused to answer. 'Tell me this, when they come for me, will you help then?' once again she was met with no response. 'So Henry's sacrifice was in vain. Goodbye, Charles.'  
__  
'Goodbye, Charlotte,' the brother said as he watched his sister walk away from him for the last time._

She gasped and woke up. She stumbled into the adjoining bath and splashed water on her face. When that didn't work she jumped into the shower with the water as hot as she could possible stand, and still she had the chills. "Oh God," she muttered as she couched on the floor of the shower. "What did they do?" she sobbed.

It came back suddenly, so sudden that she would have collapsed if she wasn't already on the floor. That last little bit during her death day appeared clear as a bell in her head, as if she had experienced it for herself instead of only through another's eyes.

_Visions swarmed before her, never ending, always chasing her. She fought against them, but couldn't wake up. WAKE UP! She ordered herself, but no matter how hard she struggled she couldn't force herself into the real world, away from the visions. _

_Days, hours, years, she wasn't sure how long they haunted her. Something occasionally poured down her throat but it burned rather than soothed the dryness of her throat. _

_She didn't know how, or when, but she finally woke up to her own sanity. No visions, no hauntings of things to be. She discovered herself in a cell on the floor in the hay. Men grabbed her arms. "Don't try anything," the biggest man said as they dragged her out and into the center of the town. _

_"No!" She yelled and tried to struggle. She shook her head as she screamed and realized her hair, once long golden locks, had been shorn. "What are you doing? What have you done to me?"_

_"No less than your kind deserve," People yelled out. She tried to block out the obscenities that people were yelling at her._

_"Charles," she whispered under her breath. When she tried to escape off the platform someone slapped her and she saw stars. _

_"Do you Charlotte Bennett of the Danvers Family repent for your crimes?" the holy man asked._

_"I repent nothing, nor do I forgive," she sneered. _

_"May God have mercy on your soul," he said. _

_"May the Devil take yours," she shouted out making the town gasp and call for her death. The moment before the fire was lit seemed to stretch on forever and she saw, clearly for the first time in days, what would happen, what had happened. _

_Remembrance, Rosemary, Eleanor, and Hope had all cursed and condemned their brothers but also themselves. She could spare herself, her brother, her daughter the pain, but as the executioner came nearer, and Charles was no where to be seen, the hate, the disappointment, the sense of betrayal that Charles _knew _this would happen and had done nothing was to strong to overcome any other feelings. _

_"What my sisters did before me I solidify. May he who chose Power over blood be forsaken by that which he craved most! May the Power he craves so much become his blood, and let it curse and forsake him as he has left me here cursed and forsaken!" She said quietly so only she, the wind, and the Power could hear her. _

_An image of her baby, the child she held for only a moment but had a pull on her heart unlike any other person this earth, appeared in her mind. "Blessed Be, my love," she whispered._

When Abigail came to, the water was freezing so she used a bit of Power to warm it back up. She crawled to the corner of the shower and just wept. "What did they do?" she asked again. She wasn't sure what to do, if she even had the strength to leave the shower.

"Damn you Charlotte and Charles," she whispered. She knew it wasn't fair, each of the brothers and sisters had made their own choice, but just _knowing_ what would come to pass and still making that choice! It infuriated her like nothing else and the mirror in her bathroom exploded, shards of glass flying everywhere.

She tried to calm her breathing but it didn't quench the desire to hit something, or explode something. She had a crazy idea of calling Caleb just to reassure herself of something. She wasn't sure what, perhaps that he wasn't as cold, callous as his predecessors. _Their _predecessors.

"Abby?" a voice called out from the other side of the door and she recognized it as Sarah's.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright? I thought I heard an explosion?"

She peered out and saw the glass laying everywhere. "I'm good," she mumbled but the door opened anyways.

"What happened?" Sarah asked worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Uh-huh," she said, still numb and mixed up about everything.

"I'll get a broom," Sarah decided, not sure how she could help, or even if Abigail wanted help. She just couldn't stand to see any of the sisters in pain or trouble. She wasn't sure why, they had only been friends for a few months, but she felt close to them. Almost as if they had known each other for years.

"Don't bother," Abigail said and the shards of glass flew up and reformed the mirror.

"Nice trick," Sarah said and Abigail laughed.

"At least the power is good for something," she muttered, still in the shower.

"Do you want me to get a towel? A drink? One of your sisters? Reid?" she asked.

"No, I am just going to think," she said and laughed at the absurdity of the whole situation. "I'll leave the shower soon, I promise," she said.

"If you need anything let me know," Sarah said kindly. She had become accustomed to strangeness around anyone with The Power so using the shower to think didn't freak her out. At least not to much, she amended.

True to her word, Abigail only wallowed a little longer in the shower. She turned it off, dried off and used the Power to dry her hair. She walked into her bedroom and lit the fire in the hearth. The house had heating so no one really used the fireplaces except in the parlor, but she wanted to indulge herself this one time.

She sat and watched the flames dance around. "Blessed be, my ass," she said. She was determined to figure out a plan, she felt this need to do something. They had to figure out how to break this curse, bring Chase back to sanity, and, hopefully, live happily ever after.

They had a lot of work ahead of them.

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_Sorry it took so long to update. I ended up cutting this chapter in half because the second half was being difficult (more specifically, Chase was being difficult). So, hopefully I will get him all straightened out and we will see him next chapter!_

_Special thanks to **A.Sam** (Ah,I am so glad you like the characters and story! And no, I don't mind people telling me to hurry with updates. I do it too :) **EvilAngel** (Thanks!! and thanks for always reviewing!) **AnAngelwithnoname** (no prob! sorry for the delay in updating!) **shadowwolfdagger** (Thanks Tala! And Thanks for always reviewing!) **MischiefLover** (I am trying to do something like that for the rest of them later, hopefully after this next chapter sorts itself out) and **Susangel** (THank you! I am glad Faith/Tyler is also popular! And there will be more interaction between the families, now that all the romantic relationships are established)_


	22. The Fantastic Four

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me

**Chapter 20: The Fantastic Four**

"I feel bad about Christiana watching Hope and the others," Patience said as they walked up the steps to their house in Cambridge. They had just returned from the dinner the girls and Paul had taken her out to in Boston for her birthday while Mrs. Simms watched over Hope and the babies.

"Are you kidding? She might kidnap them she wants to be around babies so badly," Hannah laughed. "She was delighted when we asked and insisted they could stay as long as they liked. Even the night," Hannah reminded her.

"I know, and I appreciate it . . ."

"You just aren't use to having any help," Violet said knowingly. "We know. Anyways, she's a Simms, you're a Simms, think of leaving them with family for a few hours."

"Dinner was lovely, everyone," Patience said happily. "It's been ages since we have been able to do anything with just adults," she said laughing.

As if on cue Paul opened the door and they all walked in. The lights flicked on and Patience stopped midstride. The entire house was decorated with banners, streamers, balloons, and glitter. "Surprise!!" Everyone yelled and her jaw dropped slightly open to see The Sons, Kate, Sarah, and even Christiana with the kids.

"What the . . ." Patience asked baffled.

"Happy birthday!" Violet said kissing her cheek.

"It's mommy's birthday!" Hope said happily dancing around. "I got you a present mommy!" she said proudly. "But you have to guess what it is!"

"Thank you," Patience said still surprised. She laughed as she asked, "Whose idea was this?"

"Tyler," Faith said proudly. She saw the shock deepen in Patience's eyes.

She walked up and hugged the youngest Son. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

"There's more," Tyler promised with a mischievous grin. He led her to the table in the adjoining room where a mountain of presents was piled up on the table surrounding the largest cake she had ever seen.

"Oh my," Patience said laughing.

"We'll have to do strippers another night," Faith said sadly.

"Strippers?" Reid said with a frown the same time Kate excitedly asked "Strippers?" Patience looked around at the entire gathering. There was Reid being pacified by Abigail who was making even Caleb and Sarah laugh at whatever she was saying; Pogue was pouting over Kate and strippers, making Kate laugh; Tyler had his arms wrapped around Faith and both were happily listening to Hope's nonsense; Violet and Paul were chatting with Hannah and Tyler's mom, Christiana, whom Patience seemed to talk to at least once a week.

"Well, are we going to open presents?" Christiana asked making Hope jump up and race up to hand her mom her present.

"I made this for you!" Hope said proudly. Patience knew she would love it immediately. She unwrapped it and saw the clay pot Hope had made, filled with all of her special rocks. "I want you to have my pretties," Hope said happily.

"Ah, Honey, they are wonderful," Patience said smiling, touched by her young daughter's generous gift. She went through opening all the presents, amazed to have so many.

Everyone sat around the table as Patience cut the cake. Hope was eyeing Pogue's piece because of the large frosted flower; Pogue noticed and with a quick grin swapped plates with her. Hope was so happy she looked as if it was her birthday, making Pogue laugh. "Can you eat the whole slice?" he teased. Hope nodded eagerly and proceeded to eat the entire slice as the adults talked around her.

"This was amazing," Patience said. "I can't remember the last time I had this."

"Next years will be bigger," Tyler promised with a grin. "We have more time to plan."

"Hope is going to want something amazing now," Patience said thoughtfully.

"What about clowns?"

Patience laughed at the thought. "That would be cute! She will receive her inheritance so will be having a huge celebration," Patience said proudly.

"Except Pogue doesn't particularly like clowns," Tyler confided with a wink to Hope who thought Pogue being afraid of anything was funny.

"Hey, I heard that!" Pogue yelled. "And for the record, I was three!"

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

"Abby?" Hannah whispered. It was the night after Patience's party and she desperately had to talk to Abigail now that everyone was either gone or asleep.

"Anna?" Abigail asked sleepily, resorting to the old childhood nickname. "What's wrong?" she yawned.

"I want your help," she whispered as she walked in. "I can't sleep thinking about it. But you have to promise not to tell Patience."

"Alright," Abigail said confused.

"I want to find Chase," Hannah admitted. "I want to talk to him," she said adamantly.

Abigail sat on her bed slightly shocked. She knew Hannah was determined to save Chase, more so than any of them, but what shocked her was the fact that she had been thinking of doing something similar since her latest premonition. "How?"

"I don't know!" Hannah said frustrated. "Can't you find him?"

"Once again, how? I don't scry, I'm not a charmed one," she said snidely.

"No need to get huffy," Hannah said. "I'm sorry, I just want to do _something_!"

"I know, I didn't mean to jump down your throat either, but it's 2 in the morning," Abigail pointed out. She was relieved that she was at least finished with finals. "I can't locate him, not like you are thinking, and to summon him would require probably all of us. We can try with Faith and see if the three of us can do it, but I think we would need at least 5 of us to summon another with Power," Abigail said trying to think.

"What else?"

Abigail frowned. "I can try having a vision, see what I see," she suggested. "but I don't know what else. Let me think on it."

"What do you need to force a vision?"

"Sacrifice a virgin," Abigail said rolling her eyes.

"Fresh out of those," Hannah said giggling. Some conversations were meant for 2 in the morning. "Can you try now?"

"Now?!" Hannah gave her a puppy dog look. "Oh, alright," she mumbled figuring she would just go to bed five minutes later. She didn't expect anything to happen except maybe Hannah crying herself to sleep.

In a flash of light, the candles in her room flashed to light and gave the room a comforting illumination. She went to her small bureau she kept for supplies and took out an assortment of stones and quartzes she had personally collected. She set them up around the room, leaving the polished stones in a pouch she placed in the center of her room. She dug through an old album and found a photo of Chase when they were 12, right before he left.

"You do know I don't have a lot of luck pulling visions to me at will," Abigail warned her. She didn't want Hannah to get her hopes up over this. Hannah nodded, showing she had her fingers crossed and her power close, just in case.

Heaven forbid Abigail summoned something other than a vision.

Standing barefoot in the center of her room she pulled her Power to her and for a moment just enjoyed the feeling of it. It was a luxury only The Daughters had, this sense of _pure_ _power_ as it filled them, consumed them, as if life itself. She spun in a circle as she distributed the mini colored crystals no larger than a grain of sand.

_Sand was under his feet, his heart stopping for a moment as he saw her. It had been years since he had this face-to-face with her, but he had seen her other ways._

_He at least had enough power to still do that, and soon with Caleb's power he would have enough to live on and one day, live with her. _

_He dismissed the idea that she was with someone else; It was absurd—she was his, he was hers. She still wore the necklace and ring he gave her the day he left them all those years ago. He still wore the ring she gave him._

_He saw when she saw him as her honey eyes lighted up with surprise and happiness and she pulled her red hair behind her ear. _

_\\\\\\\\\\\\swap vision\\\\\\\\\\\\_

_Heat, hell, Hannah . . . those were the only coherent thoughts running through his mind. The pain, the agony was so intense he wondered how he hadn't died, then he was afraid he HAD died. Surely all this pain meant that. _

"_Get the crash cart!" a voice in the darkness yelled. Electricity zapped through his body, his lungs straining for breath as his heart tried to keep up that rhythm that was so natural a moment ago. Another shot was followed by another as finally his body seemed to accept that this might be his own personal hell, but he was at least alive._

_\\\\\\\\\\\\\swap vision\\\\\\\\\\\\_

_It had been months, he knew that without the doctors reminding him. He took one last look in the mirror. He was thankful that he was able to at least heal his face so that the scars weren't noticeable. His back and lower torso were another matter, he thought disgustedly. _

_He had to go home. If those Sons thought to go after any of them, they would pay. He had no doubt Patience could protect the others, even from hell on earth, but he had to at least warn them. And find out if what he thought he saw was true._

_He couldn't imagine Hannah kept that from him! How could she have Power like him? And never tell him? Did she know when they were kids? He couldn't make sense of it. _

_But even if they _had _power they had to be warned about The Sons. If they would attack him, they would go after the others._

_Suddenly, he realized something was wrong. _Hannah, _he thought and de-materialized himself from the small apartment he rented. He made himself appear in their house in Cambridge, thankful they were there, and watched as their car peeled out of the driveway, Patience driving crazy which was abnormal. He followed them to a hospital and panicked. Saying hospitals weren't a happy memory for him was an understatement, but at the moment he was worried about which sister was hurt. Did Faith do something stupid again? Was it Hope and that was why Patience was driving crazy?_

_Then he saw Hannah, a _very pregnant _Hannah, being placed in the wheelchair and carted in. _

_Shock, disbelief, he wasn't sure how this could have happened. More importantly where was the bastard that did this to her?_

_He followed them to the private room set up for her. "The epidermal will hurt," the nurse warned as she gave the shot to Hannah. Patience was on one side of Hannah, holding her hand, with Violet while Faith and Abigail were on the other side. "Chase," Hannah said sounding both sad and angry as another contraction hit her. Abigail wiped away a tear that fell._

_Using the same form he always used when visiting Hannah, somewhere between air and nothingness, he moved behind Patience to reach Hannah's head. He wiped her brow, half tempted to make himself materialize right there. _

_He almost did as the next contraction hit and the doctor announced that she needed to push. Damnit, Hannah needed him!_

"_Do you have names picked out?" a nurse asked distracting her._

_Hannah gave a nod as she began to push. Chase walked down to the doctor, afraid Patience might bump into him. _

_He looked in awe at Hannah as the baby boy was born. "Chase," she said and he wondered if for a moment she saw him. "Name him Chase," she said. Suddenly they were pushing again as, to Chase's amazement, Chase's twin was born. "Isabel," Hannah decided. She leaned back to rest against the pillows, exhausted but glowing. "I'm done," she said surprised, "I have my legacy."_

_\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\swap vision\\\\\\\\\\\\_

_They chose THEM, he thought in rage. Here he was trying to protect them, had been like a brother to them for so long, and they were choosing _them _over _him_. And after what Caleb had done to him! It was incredible. He never would have guessed that of any of them._

_Caleb had to be stopped. Heaven help any who got in his way._

Abigail gasped. She had never summoned a vision so intense, so long, or one that caused such heartbreak. "What did you see?" Hannah asked hopefully. "Do you know where he is?"

"No," Abigail said shaking her head. "Oh, Hannah, he was there. He was there when you gave birth!"

Hannah stood there in shock. "So Patience did feel something," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "He must have been furious."

"No," Abigail said walking up and taking her hands in hers. "Well, he did want to murder the 'bastard' that did that to you," Abigail laughed. "He doesn't know," she reminded Hannah. "He doesn't know who the dad is, but he . . . oh, Hannah, what he felt for you was enough to spill over in my heart. It was so intense, like Chase has always been," she said with a laugh. "It's just, well, now after all this with the power he's . . .well, he's not exactly the same," she cautioned. "He is furious with Caleb, and thinks we picked The Sons over him. And he is slightly unstable."

"So in addition to being cunning, intelligent, and sneaky he is volatile and unstable. Great," she said. She was more depressed than before.

Abigail kissed her on the cheek. "There is always hope," she said. Hannah nodded and walked back to her room, then into the adjoining nursery. She looked at her sleeping babies. She looked closer and saw that each of them had a new rattle. She picked them up and looked and saw that each had a wonky 4 that looked like the symbol for Jupiter etched on it. Suddenly the memory of Chase's mother popped into her head. _The Fantastic Four have done it again, she said laughing as the four of them, Abigail, Faith, Hannah, and Chase, came tromping into the house covered in mud and leaves and laughing._ The nickname had stuck with all of them. "Chase," she whispered with a smile as she placed the rattle back. She looked off into the nothingness. "Nothing's changed, I promised," she whispered unsure if he was still there.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Hannah popped popcorn, grabbed the six pack of soda, the extra large bar of chocolate, and headed to the living room. She wanted to wallow, and nothing was better than chocolate when wallowing. "Chase, if you are watching me now, you always were the rash one," she muttered. "Reid is just as bad as you, you know." She thought of some similarities between Caleb and Chase and it made her laugh. She dumped everything on the coffee table and pulled out the box of videos. Picking one at random she popped it in the VCR and opened her first soda.

"You are going to hate yourself after the third soda," Kate said standing in the doorway. "What are you watching?"

"Old home videos," Hannah said. "If I can work off the baby fat, I can work off these calories," she rationalized. "Won't matter in 9 years," she shrugged. Kate went into the kitchen, grabbed a few sodas for herself, and plopped herself on the other sofa.

"Ah!" Kate said happily. "Is that Faith?"

Hannah laughed. "Hang on, here comes Abigail," she said and sure enough, Abigail toddled out to play with Faith in the yard. They had a plastic house and plastic car.

_"Chase!" little Faith called out. "You have to play now!'_

_"He does not!" Hannah yelled back stubbornly. "He is with me."_

_"He is always with you!" Abigail pouted._

Kate laughed despite herself. "Already fighting over boys?" she teased watching as little Chase diplomatically dragged Hannah to play with him, Abigail, and Faith. "Is that his mom?" she gasped. "She was beautiful!"

"She was," Hannah said with a nod. "So sad she died so young."

"Who is recording?"

"Patience's mom, I think." It switched to a birthday party for Chase.

"Videos!" Faith yelled excitedly coming in. She paused the video while she raided the fridge for snacks and drinks. "Videos!!" she hollered up the stairs and a minute later Abigail, Sarah, Violet, and Patience, who had arrived that morning, came rushing into the living room. "Chase's birthday!" Violet said happily popping open a soda. "I remember that one!"

"You brought out the Fantastic Four videos!" Patience said laughing. "I haven't seen one of these in so long." Violet explained to Kate and Sarah how Hannah, Chase, Abigail, and Faith were dubbed the fantastic four by their mothers growing up.

"Well, now that we are all here," Hannah said hitting play. They watched and laughed and cooed over all the little versions of themselves.

"You and Chase were such toeheads!" Kate said laughing when she saw little Abigail and Chase with their extremely blonde hair doing some ridiculous dance together.

"Jealous?" Abigail teased.

"Nothing wrong with blonde!" Sarah yelled flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

Soon Patience popped 2 more bags of popcorn as they watched several more videos. "This was right after your mom died, right?" Faith asked Abigail who nodded. They saw Chase sitting on the porch with Abigail talking excitedly over nonsense that only other 7 year olds understood. "That was a nice, normal day," Abigail said dreamily. "I loved that day."

"You still remember it?"

"Of course! It was just a nice, normal day with one of my friends after something so traumatic happened. You know, Chase said he would sleep with me to keep me company that night," she said and Hannah choked on her drink. "Get your head out of the gutter, Hannah!" Abigail laughed. "We were 7. He just didn't want me to be sad and lonely," she said sadly. "Of course, seeing how he turned out, I wouldn't say no now," she teased Hannah who glared at her.

"Are we swapping? I'll take Tyler," Sarah teased making everyone laugh.

"I think I'll keep him," Faith laughed. She popped in a different tape. "We are . . .10?" she asked looking at them.

"Yup!" Hannah said happily. Kate and Sarah noticed that by now there was only Patience's mother, Violet's mother, and Chase's mother.

"Patience, I remember your mom taking me, Faith, and Chase to the doctor before school started that year," Abigail said grabbing some popcorn. "I think 3 reluctant kids to the doctor was a bit much for her."

Patience laughed. "She did confide in me that when it was my turn, I might want to take you guys one at a time," she said. "Especially if shots were involved."

After several hours had passed Hannah was surprised to discover that, while she didn't get her solitary wallow, she did feel better. "Thanks," she told them when they had turned the tv off and everyone was just lounging around.

"We didn't want you to be alone," Sarah confided. "You seemed like you needed the company." She turned to Abigail. "The other day when I asked if Kate and I could watch you and Faith do some stuff with the power you said we were meant to be here, that we don't not have power. What did you mean by that?"

Abigail simply gave her a coy smile. "How far back have you guys traced your ancestry?"

"We are not part of the original families," Kate said.

"Of course you are not," Faith said. "But, they had friends, they had allies."

"You mean we had ancestors who knew your ancestors?"

"Possibly. We are big believers in fate," Abigail said making everyone laugh. "What? We are," she pouted. "Anyways, it would just make sense if you did. Especially since you met The Sons when you did, met us when you did. It wouldn't surprise us." She shrugged. "You are destined to be with Caleb and Pogue at least."

"Well, I promised to meet Tyler," Faith said getting up. "When are we heading to the Ipswich house?"

"I am going tonight, you guys can come whenever you want," Hannah said.

"I think I can be packed tomorrow," Faith told Abigail. "I have a few presents to get today while I am out," she said as she left to get ready for their date.

"I have to agree with you, Abigail," Kate said looking after Faith. "You guys might break this curse simply because I don't see Tyler breaking her heart."

"Let's hope it's that simple," Violet said.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

_Sorry for the delay but things are getting busy for me and my beta these last few weeks. The next update might not be for a week or so. _

_A huge thanks to all of my readers! And a big thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers! **DresdenLace** (ah, you are making me blush! Thank you! I was going for raw with her visions, it's nice to know I succeeded!) **Susangel** (Charlotte wasn't herself, but she was when she made the decision,if that makes sense. I think she felt that her daughters would be able to break the curse, that it wouldn't last for 300 years. I can't wait for the curse to be broken either : ) **AnangelwithNoName** (Sorry for the delay! Next one will be about may 9th-ish when school is over) **ShadowWolfDagger **(Thank you for always reviewing!!) **EvilAngel** (Sometimes inspiration just runs you over, he-he. I thought it made for an interesting twist. Glad you liked it too!) **a.sam** (I am so glad you are addicted! I am too, I love writing this story) **MischiefLover** (not how I originally had Chase in this chapter, but it accomplished what I wanted. We can see where his mindset is, and he did make an appearance! Well, sort of) **Kayla Ashlee **(Thank you! I am so glad you are enjoying it!)_


	23. A Lot like Christmas

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this (nor do I own the rights to the song). Only plot and OC's belong to me.

_Huge thanks to my beta, WEASLEYxISxMYXKING for getting this (and all my other chapters!) back to me so quickly even though I know you are swamped with your theater work and a cold!! YOU ROCK!!_

**Chapter 21: **_**It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas . . .**_

"Faith," Abigail called out as she entered Faith's room. She needed to tell her what happened last night.

"Yeah?" Faith asked from inside her closet.

"Has Hannah talked to you?" Abigail asked. She heard a muffled 'no' from somewhere inside and so she shut the bedroom door and walked into the closet. She didn't want to risk Violet or Patience overhearing. "She came into my room this morning, asking me to force a vision."

Faith dropped her shoes. "What? Did you actually see anything?"

"Oh boy, did I," Abigail said. She told Faith everything she saw. "It made my heart break, Faith, seeing how messed up the Power made him," she said sadly. "We have to do something." A knock at the door made them both jump. They opened the closet door a half inch to peak out and see who was coming in. "Hannah!"

"What is going on? Are we raiding Faith's closet?" Abigail pulled her in the closet and shut them inside it. "I was only joking about it, but I wouldn't say no to that red jacket you have."

"I was telling Faith about this morning and how I think we need to do something."

"You mean like find him somehow? You sound like Hannah suddenly, Abby," Faith pointed out as she pulled on her boots. "How? A summoning would take a lot of power."

"I know, I told Hannah that. I think Reid would help, though," Abigail said and she saw the way Hannah perked up.

Faith looked thoughtful for a moment. "I might be able to get Tyler to help, too. But I don't want to bring it up before we have at least an idea of what we are going to do. I'll leave the plans to you, Abby," Faith said with a wave as she walked out leaving them sitting on the floor of her closet.

"Why me?" Abigail said with a sigh.

"You're the Danvers," Hannah said with a shrug.

"Well, I think whatever we do needs to involve Patience and Violet," she said firmly. "We have always stuck together, Hannah. We can't break that now."

Hannah sighed. "I know, but I just don't know what to do. Think of something, Abigail."

"Why me?" she sighed. She had her own work without this. "Nothing until after the holidays, Hannah. We don't even know where to begin looking for him."

_vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv_

Abigail ended up going shopping with Reid later that afternoon when he suddenly appeared on the doorstep when Tyler picked Faith up. Hannah had gone down to bake cookies in the kitchen by the time they arrived and they drifted in. She saw them and grabbed two spoons giving them each a large helping of cookie batter.

"Chocolate chip?" Reid said happily. He tried redunking his spoon but Hannah swatted away his hand laughing.

"Hey, no flirting with the older sister!" Abigail said, hands crossed over her chest in mock anger.

"Alright then" he said with a smirk. He walked by and picked up Isabel. "Hey there gorgeous," he said with a laugh as she giggled and Hannah and Abigail burst into laughter. He placed her back down in the play pen and made a rubber ball a little larger than a tennis ball appear and handed it to Chase.

"You know, they are going to be banging pots and pans soon," Tyler said.

"They already are, Heaven help me. Isabel gets her powers in a few years. I won't be able to take my eyes off her for a minute," she said shaking her head. "Pots and pans seem like a joy in comparison," she said laughing.

She and Reid walked out holding hands. "When do you go back to Ipswich?"

"Soon," she said smiling. "Hannah is going tonight. Faith and I are still packing, and shopping. Speaking of which, I need to get Pogue something, and then something for all of your mothers."

"Our mothers? What for?" he asked curiously.

"Christmas, silly," she said playfully shoving him. "For when we open gifts Christmas Eve."

"You lost me."

"We always have Christmas in Ipswich, and this year with Chase and Isabel so big it will be fun watching them try to open their presents! Patience invited all of you guys over for Christmas Eve. Besides, the Manor is huge and comfortable for all of us. Patience sent out invitations today to your mothers," she said.

"You are inviting my mother to Christmas?" he asked bewildered.

"All of your mothers," she said quickly. "Christmas Eve. This way Christmas Day can still be with family."

"Patience is amazing, have I told her that lately?" Reid said shaking his head. "She probably has everything all planned out."

"She has lists like you wouldn't believe," Abigail nodded with a smile. "And she is not shy about delegating."

"So, any chance I could come by sooner?" he said cheekily.

"If you don't mind taking some of the KP duties."

"Done," he said. "What did you get me?"

"Not even close," she said shaking her head. He was always trying to find out what she got him for the holidays.

"Aren't you even the least bit curious about your present?"

"And who says I don't know?" she teased.

"Hey, no cheating. No calling on visions!" he saw her frown over that. "I was just joking. I know you said you can't always call on them."

"Not always," she mumbled thoughtfully.

"Have you seen something lately?"

She decided to confide in him the vision that had been haunting her for the last few days. "I'll tell you over dinner. But, well, Hannah has been talking with Faith and I about Chase. You know how important it is we work with him, find him, right?"

"Yeah, I know," he said. She couldn't make out what his reaction was to it.

"You put this mask on whenever Chase comes up."

"It isn't an easy subject."

She snorted. "That is an understatement."

He grinned. "Chase and Pogue are . . . well, he was more direct with them and Kate and Sarah last time," Chase said. "Don't get me wrong, you attack one of us you attack all of us, but Tyler and I were not directly attacked or had girlfriends involved. Plus, I know my own role in this curse," he said and it was like a fist had enclosed her heart and she couldn't catch her breath thinking of what she had fated him to.

"There is time," she said. "I made a vow," she said and he stopped so suddenly she almost slipped in the snow and Reid had to steady her.

"What?"

"I made a vow," she said again.

"I thought you said that you guys stayed away from vows and curses and things."

"First off, I never said curse," she pointed out. "I made a vow, Faith witnessed it, end of story."

"I thought you were weary of them?" he asked concerned. He knew that she had seen all the other coven women who had taken vows and the consequences of them.

"I am, but this was too important to me. I am not going to lose you, Reid. If it means not having my daughter and your son until the last year, so be it. I won't be the first to have made this choice," she said. "I want to give us all the time we can possible have together. I made a vow, and Faith witnessed it." She was giving them all the time she possibly could, knowing it was also giving him time to fall out of love with her and save himself.

He frowned. "I know what you are doing," he said and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised. He kissed her softly on the lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "That is my vow," he said as he leaned in to capture her lips again.

When they finally broke away he grinned as he leaned his forehead against hers. "So, how do we find Chase?"

_vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv_

They spent the afternoon shopping for Christmas gifts and getting a start on Patience's lists. Then they had dinner in a nice cozy café by the Commons and she confided in him about the vision she had about Charles Danvers.

"He _knew_? He saw as well?" Reid asked shocked as he held her hand on the table.

Abigail nodded. "From what I learned, he had had visions before, like Charlotte. I don't know how often or how many, but it wasn't unusual for him. He somehow had Charlotte's husband, Henry, die thinking it would save Charlotte."

"But when the time came, he still didn't stick his neck out," Reid sneered. They quieted as the waiter arrived with their food.

"I don't ever dream about The Sons, with the exception of Chase. I have seen Charles a few times when I see Charlotte, but I never see anything from him," she explained as she started eating her shrimp. Reid snagged one off of her plate as he listened to her.

"I think 300 odd years has been long enough for both sides, don't you?" Reid asked. "I mean, how long does the Power expect to punish us?"

She shrugged. "I have no clue. It seems it's ready for us to start finding redemption, after all, Chase was reunited with the Sons making all 5 families together for the first time since the split."

"Tyler, I think, will have no problem, Caleb and Pogue, though, are being more stubborn about this whole Chase thing. They know we have to, but they about as eager as worms tied to fishing hooks."

"Have you told them about you?" she asked and he shook his head. "Why not?"

"It hasn't come up," he said with a shrug. She just stared at him. "I don't know how to tell them. I am used to telling Tyler everything, but I don't know how to tell him this. And Caleb will pull his big brother stunt," he said, but Abigail didn't detect any bitterness over that statement which made her smile.

"Well, I think they should know. You guys are a family, just like we are."

Reid snorted. "Yeah, one that is dysfunctional. Caleb and I are always going after each other's throats."

"Tell me something I don't know," Abigail said making Reid do a double take. "Remember I asked what is going on between you and Caleb? I can see this tension between the two of you. Normally you two are great, but you guys seem to . . . rub each other the wrong way."

"We are . . . well, I guess if it ever came down to choices, he and Pogue are tight, and that left me and Tyler. Caleb was to stuffy and I want to have fun," Reid explained. It sounded casual on the surface but she knew how he felt underneath his easy words.

"Don't talk about choices. Besides, you haven't been paying much attention to my sisters, have you?"

"I do tend to give you a lot of my attention," Reid smirked.

"Ha ha. I meant you need to learn to be an individual in a crazy, mixed up family. I mean, we are all ourselves in this big, mad family we have, and we love each other because of it. I think you boys just have forgotten that," she said wisely with a nod making Reid laugh. "Hey, I am being serious here."

"I know," He said rubbing her hand. "You just looked adorable saying it. But I think you are right. Not that Caleb would listen to me if I told him," he scoffed.

She rolled her eyes. "Onto a more touching, cheerful, and just plain fun topic," she announced with a twinkle in her eye. "Dessert."

_vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv_

She packed the presents she had wrapped and loaded them into her car. "Ready?" Faith asked as Abigail walked down the steps. They got in and drove to their Ipswich manor. "This is actually exciting," she said happily. "All of us together for Christmas."

"I know," Abigail said just as bubbly as she maneuvered through traffic. "I'm glad you and Tyler are okay now," she said.

"Me too," Faith said with a sigh. "I never planned for anything, you know that. But I think that has made this even more special," she said happily. "And I am just going to enjoy what time I do have with him. But, and don't get mad at me for asking, especially after Hannah, but I want you to look and see if you can see anything between us."

"I don't know . . ."Abigail said hesitantly, wondering why they were both pushing all of a sudden and wondered if they suspected what she was doing. "We still have the curse."

"I know . . . I just want to know if there is any hope," Faith said. Abigail nodded, saying she would give it a try making Faith clap her hands happily. "Of course, if he abandons me, lie," she teased making Abigail laugh.

They pulled up in Ipswich and hauled in their stuff. "Can you believe this weather?" Patience said happily. Her maternal instincts were kicking in and she was glad that they were all back under one roof. "It is snowing so early this year. And now this storm."

"Thanks for inviting everyone," Faith said hugging her. "_And_, I have half the stuff on your list already."

"Only half?" Patience said with an eyebrow raised.

"I finished mine," Abigail said happily making Patience smile. She stuck her tongue out at Faith.

"Then you can do that _favor_ for me," Faith hinted referring to their earlier conversation. Abigail sighed and grabbed her bag of presents to haul up and wrap and heard Violet and Paul singing to Peony 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.'

She looked around the house and had to smile. Garland was everywhere, as were lights and mistletoe. It was, indeed, beginning to look like Christmas.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

_A HUGE thank you to all my readers! I never imagined this would get this much support! Over 100 reviews now (yay!) and it is my second highest number of hits for a single story! (And, to my surprise, my even overcome my highest story!!) You guys totally rock!_

_A big thanks to **MischiefLover**_ _(I try to see Chase before the Power as innocent, and without anyone to explain things or guide him, it corrupted him. I think he's adorable too : ) THanks!!) **a.sam **(Thank you!! I'm so glad you are still liking it!) **Anangelwithnoname** (thanks! Were you going to make a prediction? lol. You made me curious). **evilangel** (Chase makes an appearance soon--yay!-- but, remember, this is still confused, evil Chase right now), **Kayla Ashleee **(Thank you! A big thanks goes to my roomate/sister for the long nights when I deprived her of sleep, forcing her to listen to me as I hashed out the details, lol), **CSIMIamiLover** (Ah, it is still up in the air! We will all have to wait to find out :) **ShadowWolfDagger** (THANKS!! :) **Susangel** (Ah, Pogue I don't think gets a lot of time in my story, and it was to sweet to pass up! I wanted to show how close they were with Chase and how hard it is for them, especially Hannah, right now. Alas, he was not there while they watched videos. He just pops in whenever he/I feel like, lol), and **Grlwithoutaname** (Thank you for all the reviews! If you still have any questions, let me know! I would be happy to clarify anything!!)_


	24. Bearing of Gifts

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this. Only plot and OC's belong to me.

**Chapter 22: Bearing of Gifts**

It was December 22nd and everything was hectic as they prepared for the Christmas Eve dinner. "Patience, why are you stressing?" Violet asked as Paul rocked a cranky Peony.

"It just _feels _like it needs to be perfect. It is the first Christmas with The Sons in over 300 years, not to mention the fact two of them are dating my sisters—"

"You should be poisoning their food, then, not making sure you have their favorites," Paul teased.

"Tempting, believe me. If Tyler hurts Faith …."

"I thought you and I agreed to give him a chance, Patience," Violet said cautiously making sure Faith wasn't nearby. "You and I agreed not to be prejudice against him."

"Vi, even if we didn't have this curse I would still believe nobody is good enough for her, for any of you," she turned quickly to Paul, "present company excluded."

"I think Tyler is a great kid. Quiet in class, but always on top of things. He might not stand out amongst the sons, but that is what makes him noticeable."

"Sadly, I understood that," Violet said kissing Peony. "Finish with your pies, then, mother," she chided as she walked out after Paul. "Besides, Abby is the best person to brew a poison if the time comes for that."

"If she's alive," Patience whispered sadly to herself.

_vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv_

Abigail awoke with a jolt. She rolled over to see what time it was and was happy to see it was a little after 3am. _Perfect, the witching hour_ she thought happily. She dragged herself out of bed and the candles in her room lit. She grabbed the supplies she had set out before and prepared for the same ritual she had done for Hannah a few nights ago.

She just hoped she was finally half as successful for herself as she had been for Hannah.

She placed the new candles in a circle in the middle of the room interspaced around crystals. She placed herself in the center and tried to focus only on her quest.

Nothing.

She tried not to be disappointed—after all, it was extremely improbable for her to be successful on her first attempt. She had a better chance at winning the lotto. She grabbed for a snapshot of Reid from one of their first dates over the summer and refocused herself.

Nothing.

Frustrated she grabbed for one of the photos Faith had manipulated. It was Reid approximately 30 years old. For a moment she hoped he lived that long, and then refocused herself on her quest.

She peaked at the clock and realized she had spent over 2 hours on this and the sun would be up in half an hour. She tossed the photo aside and grabbed the other one Faith had manipulated. She looked at the images and kissed the photo gently. _Please, just a glimpse,_ she thought desperately.

She ripped the photo when nothing happened.

She decided to change tactics. She grabbed the pitcher of water and the small glass bowl. Her power was pulled so tightly around her that the water rippled as she peered into the bowl.

She only saw herself.

She tossed the water out the window and grabbed for the second bowl. It looked more like a copper offering plate and she poured only a little bit and whispered a few words.

Her frustrated eyes peered back at her.

_vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv_

Faith felt the power as she passed the door. Quirking an eyebrow she reached for the handle when Hope galloped by. "Mom says Abby is up to something, has been for awhile," Hope announced.

"How long have you been up?" Faith asked curiously. It was now almost 11.

"I woke up in time for Zaboomafu," Hope said happily. "Today—

"Can you tell me later honey?" Faith asked trying to be patient. That was at 8:30. If Abigail had already been using Power that long ago, and she was still going strong, something had to be wrong. "I need to help Abby."

"Can I?"

"Later, okay? How 'bout you go help mommy with the cookies, alright?" Hope pouted but did as she was told.

Faith reached for the doorknob the same time she reached for her Power. She wasn't sure what to prepare herself for.

She stumbled in to find candles sitting in piles of wax, bowls with various amounts of water tossed around on the floor, photos tossed everywhere, bedclothes and bedsheets messed up in the bed, mirrors standing along the wall, and crystal balls of all sizes.

Right as she walked in Abigail pitched the one in her hand at the wall and it shattered. "That one was 70 years old!" Faith admonished.

"It was no good!" Abigail said panting. "None of them are any good!"

"What's wrong?" Faith asked quickly closing the door. Tyler was planning on coming by which would probably also include at least Reid, and she didn't want either of them or their sisters to see Abigail like this.

_She _had never seen Abigail like _this_.

"I can't see them! It's not fair! Why can't I see even just one of them?" Abigail said dropping to her knees.

"One of who?" Faith asked taking a step closer but not getting to close.

"My daughter or my son," Abigail said. "Why can't I see just one of them?"

"Honey," Faith said stepping closer. "You can't control your visions, you don't always see what you want."

Abigail snorted. "I never see what I _want_, Faith. I see whatever the twisted fates show me. Always the past, or immediate future, but never the future, never _my_ children."

"But haven't you, on your death day or something, seen her? Your daughter?"

Abigail shook her head. "No. The only future I see is the immediate one, like Violet going into labor, and ones not involving me, like Chase dying. I see all of yours but I can't see _mine_. At least, not the part I want to see," she said cryptically.

"How long have you been trying?" Faith asked.

"Since that night at Nicky's, back in May. I thought I would see my daughter, then after things turned serious with Reid I wanted to see if I had his son," Abigail admitted. She hadn't told a soul for all these months. "I had hoped the Winter Solstice would help, but it didn't." She looked up at Faith who had taken a position in front of her triple mirror, like the kind one would find in a dress shop, and the unfairness of the situation, after all the past hours and months, was enough to make her want to scream.

She saw 3 facades of Faith in the mirror. One of Faith a little older, before her death day, alone. One of Faith holding a little girl, and one of Faith and Tyler each holding a little baby, one wrapped in a pink blanket, one in a blue one. "Three choices are before you, Faith. One with Tyler, one without, and one with none."

"None?" Faith asked shocked. "What do you _mean_ none? We _always_ have one. We _need_ to have a daughter."

"I don't know how or what it means, I just know what I see. Interpret it as you will," Abigail said. "I need to clean up and get some sleep."

"What time did you start?"

"3 this morning," Abigail said. Faith looked at the clock and saw that it had been nearly 8 hours. She wondered where Abigail got the endurance for her Power.

It was after she walked down the hall to get lunch that she realized Abigail had seen her future, but not her own.

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Christmas Eve arrived and the house looked wonderful. They all made sure to tell Patience that at least twice. "Christmas! Christmas!" Hope kept saying cheerfully. She tried to explain what it was to Chase and Isabel but they didn't share her enthusiasm. It didn't deter Hope, though, she then went on to explain it to Peony. "Well, hopefully she will have the same enthusiasm in 12 years," Violet chuckled.

Everyone arrived and they had dinner in the formal dinning room. To Patience's relief, everyone was happy, eating, and there was no awkwardness. She sat at the head of the long table with Christiana Simms on her left and Evangeline Parry on her right. She knew that the other two mothers were also noticing the couples around the table and they all shared a maternal, conspirator eye.

After dessert they congregated in the large parlor where the tree had been decorated and presents piled up. Hope's eyes seemed to pop out of her head when she saw the large piles of presents. "Can I open up all of them?"

"And what would you open up in the morning?" Paul asked.

"The ones from Santa, of course," Hope said logically.

"No, honey, you can only open up presents from The Sons and their moms tonight," Patience said with that look that meant _don't argue._ When Hope found how many presents that was, she couldn't complain. Everyone watched as she excitedly opened all of her presents, thanking everyone excitedly for everything. Then she opened the presents for Peony even though onesies weren't nearly as exciting as the giant dollhouse she got.

Hannah opened the presents for Chase and Isabel and then with Hope playing with her own gifts, the adults opened up their presents. "Do you think she'll like it?" Abigail asked when Deirdre Garwin got to the present from her.

"Are you kidding? You are putting my past 18 years of presents to shame," Reid assured her. "She has had her eye on that jacket for weeks."

Reid was right because Deirdre let out a girly giggle when she saw the jacket she had been eyeing wrapped elegantly in the tissue paper. She gave Abigail a fierce hug. "You have no idea how long I had been trying to justify buying it. I have the perfect shoes to go with this!"

"I kept telling her shoes aren't important . . ." he was cut off as both Abigail and his mom frowned at him, "But what do I know."

"Shoes are everything, Reid Garwin," his mother chastised lovingly. "I am thankful Abigail has such wonderful taste," she said, squeezing Abigail's shoulder.

When everyone was busy, Reid pulled Abigail aside. "What's wrong?" Abigail asked confused.

"I wanted to give you your present," he said handing her a slim box, only half an inch thick.

She gave him a puzzled look. "Isn't that what everyone else is doing?" she asked nodding her head towards everyone else in the parlor.

"Just open it up," he said nervously, which made her curious. She ripped the wrapping paper off and slipped the lid of the box off. She gave him a curious look. "What is this?"

"A trip," he said. She quirked an eyebrow and looked over it again. "Ten days in the British isles?" she said. He was trying to judge her reaction.

"If you don't want to—" but he was cut off when Abigail threw her arms around him.

"I've always wanted to go to London!" She said happily. "You keep me on my toes," she said happily as she kissed him passionately, one leg popping up.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Caleb had overheard the conversation while passing his way into the kitchen to get his mother some water. He took longer than necessary trying to gather his thoughts and decide what to say to Reid.

By the time he got back, Reid and Abigail had rejoined the others, and judging by the interaction he would have to guess that no one else knew Reid's gift.

Not wanting to disrupt everyone's holiday cheer, he decided the day after Christmas was soon enough to talk to Reid.  
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_Author's Notes: Sorry for such a long absence! My beta had major internet trouble. Next one will be up soon! _

_Special thanks to **a.sam** (yay! Thanks! So much more to happen, and soon!), **anangelwithnoname** (sorry it took so long!!), **evilangel** (I like evil Chase, too, lol, I think it was just harder on him having no one who knew what was happening and to explain or help him. He will return, though, and soon!) **heartbreakginny** (Ah, I am glad you liked it! Tyler is so sweet, I think, and needs more time), **Mischieflover **(Chase is so soon, I promise! I decided to put him in _after _Christmas--Didn't want to spoil the holidays for everyone, but soon . . .) **Susangel **(This story actually got away from me, so we have a lot left. I hope that is alright! And belief me, I understand chaotic! I hope it is fun chaos, though), and **Kari** (I hope you see this, and got my email! So much more to go, i promise it isn't over yet! Sorry it took so long to post, though. Thanks for such a lovely review! My ego is properly inflated!)_


	25. Confrontations

Disclaimer: Do not own or profit from this writing. Only OC's and plot belong to me. And No, nor am I Nalini Singh or Kresley Cole, I just adore their writing : )

**Chapter 23: Confrontations**

"Why are we all here?" Tyler asked curiously as they all met at the Cave the day after Christmas.

"I just felt we needed to talk," Caleb said. Reid and Tyler shared looks. They knew Pogue and Caleb had, once again, decided something without them. "Abigail wants to know how you feel about working with Chase," Reid asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Pogue asked.

"I think that is the whole point of everything," Caleb said. "Choices. The choices our ancestors made, and the ones we make."

"Caleb, just say what the hell it is you brought us down here for," Tyler said. "You talked it over with Pogue already, stop dividing us up."

"What?"

"You always do that. We know were we all stand with you," Tyler said. After talking it over with Faith he was tired of always feeling like the baby. "What did you want to talk to us about?"

"It is more with Reid," Caleb said unsure. Tyler had surprised him.

"Why am I not surprised?" Reid groaned. "What did I do now? You can't yell at me for Using needlessly."

No, Caleb thought. Whatever Abigail had done had done wonders for his addiction. But he didn't want Reid's rash behavior to hurt Abigail. "I think you are moving too fast," he said.

"What?"

"With Abigail. This is the most serious I have ever seen you with a girl, and I don't want you to rush things with her."

Reid's eyes went coal black. "Are you more worried about me or her?"

"I don't want you to hurt her," he said.

"Why the hell do you care? I don't tell you how to run your relationship with Sarah," Reid said coolly.

"Sarah isn't related to anyone here," Caleb said his eyes flashing coal black as well.

"What the hell brought on this protective older brother routine?" Reid demanded.

"She is in my family, Reid. I don't want to have to watch you hurt her later on if you get restless or rash or do something idiotic. I don't want to see her hurt because of you being irresponsible."

"Why do you always assume I will do something idiotic, rash, or stupid? Damn it, Caleb. You know, for once it would be great if you could just say 'Great Job, Reid.' Hell, I'd settle for even a Thank You for something once in awhile. Just because you are the eldest and a Danvers doesn't make you the freaking master of ceremonies here."

"Reid, Europe? Have you gone insane? How do you even know what the two of you will be at the end of the school year?"

"I don't have to ask for YOUR permission, Caleb," Reid seethed. "You need to loosen up!"

"You need to get serious, Reid! You will get bored, decide to go do your own thing and leave me to clean up your messes _again_," Caleb seethed. "Only this time it will be Abby who gets hurt. Hell, I overheard you joking around with Tyler about who's going to be living where after college."

"For once, your concern is misplaced," Reid said and stormed up the stairs again. Tyler looked between him and Reid, and headed up after Reid.

"Wait up," he hollered. Reid turned around. Somehow, Tyler always chose to stick with him. "Reid, he is just concerned. He thinks of her as a sister, as all of them as cousins or something," Tyler said. "And hell, everyone says Pogue is overprotective, but Caleb has that in spades."

"Tyler, just don't," Reid said. "You don't have to explain Caleb to me. Hell, it's just that he doesn't have to worry about _her_."

"What's going on?" Tyler asked grabbing his arm to stop him. "Faith said something, and I know you have been hiding something. What is going on?"

"Not now, Tyler."

"No, you always confide in me. What the hell is going on?"

"Let's just say, I have personal stakes in this to. Why do you think I don't care about working with Chase?"

"I figured because he didn't try to kill you or your girlfriend. We all knew it would be hardest for Caleb and Sarah."

"Yeah, but haven't you noticed Sarah and Kate are okay with it? I have no idea how Caleb and Pogue feel. Maybe they'll talk to you," Reid said.

"I'll see you later," he headed back down to the cave once Reid was out of sight. "Something is off," he told Caleb and Pogue.

"What is it baby boy?" Pogue asked.

"You know, I hate that nickname," Tyler said. "Something he isn't telling me. I don't know, and Faith won't tell me. She said something about 'Garwin solidarity.'"

"Look, Tyler, its not that we didn't want to talk to you beforehand about it, but you and Reid are tight . . ." Caleb started.

"No, you and Pogue are a unit. We are supposed to be like family, Caleb, like brothers. And yeah, you have concerns about Reid, so talk to him about it. I don't think the ambush thing was a great idea, even though you don't want my opinion."

"Of course we want your opinion," Pogue said. "Damn it, we have issues."

Tyler laughed. "I think it is only going to get worse once Chase gets back. We need to be a unit before that happens. Faith is wondering how the two of you feel about working with Chase."

"I'd rather be run over by an 18 wheeler," Pogue said through gritted teeth. "But Kate wants to give it a try. Something about him being adorable when he was younger."

"A man shouldn't hear his woman gush about another guy, especially when he tried to kill them," Caleb grumbled. "Sarah must have seen the same thing. Something about being an adorable toe-headed boy."

"Well, I can tell Faith you're willing but not eager," Tyler said heading back out.

"Tyler, tell Reid we won't do the ambush thing again," Pogue said.

"Tell him yourself," Tyler yelled. He briefly wondered if the Daughters had their own issues as he got into his hummer.

He pulled into the long drive of the Coven Manor and parked behind Reid who had just arrived himself and was getting out of his car. They let themselves in and the first person they found was Hannah.

"Have you ever wanted to throttle any of your sisters?" Tyler asked.

"At least once a day," she said dancing around with Chase who was fussy with a new tooth coming in. "We are family, not saints. They are upstairs getting ready."

They headed upstairs and found Faith and Abigail in Faith's bedroom. "You look great in that one," Faith said looking at Abigail as she came out of the closet.

"I think it looks better on you," Abigail said.

"No, I like the green one on me. That rosy one looks gorgeous with your blonde hair and complexion," she walked into the closet and dug out some shoes. "These would be great with them."

"I think this would go great with yours," she said pointing to another pair. Tyler and Reid shared amused looks as they could hear their voices but only really see clothes flying around.

"Are we interrupting?" Reid asked leaning against the door jam.

Faith peered out from the closet and then disappeared back inside. She came out a second later fully clothed. "Just looking for something fun. Abigail and I decided to go out to dinner."

"Without inviting us?" Tyler teased

"Girls night out," Faith laughed kissing him. "Besides, we didn't know how long you guys would be. What did you guys do anyways?"

"They were at the Cave," Abigail said coming out.

"Lucky guess?" Reid asked

"You smell like mold," Abigail teased making Reid laugh. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Reid said quickly making her raise an eyebrow. "Nothing important," he qualified. "So, what does girls night out entail?"

"Seeing a movie we would never get you to sit through, treat ourselves to manicures and pedicures, a trip to the chocolate factory, the usual," she said with a bright, sunny smile that seemed to cheer Reid up.

On the train Abigail and Faith discussed Reid and Tyler. "What do you think is wrong? They both seemed upset, especially Reid," Abigail worried. "He didn't even try to come along."

"I don't know. Do you think it has something to do with what Caleb wanted to talk about?"

"Unless something else happened today, I would say yes."

"Boys," Faith said rolling her eyes as they got off to go to the movies. They picked a chick flick since it was just them and headed inside.

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"So what are your plans today?" Patience asked when Abigail and Faith finished lunch.

"I want to finish that book. Finally, I don't have a book to read for school," Faith said. "Kresley Cole and Nalini Singh are calling to me."

"I am going to go ice skating," she decided. "The weather is beautiful, the pond is frozen, it's perfect." They heard the door open and turned to see Reid had arrived.

"Just in time!" Abigail said happily. "I hope you brought your ice skates."

"Uh, no?" He saw Abigail's eyes flash and a pair of ice skates materialized in front of him. "Thanks."

They saw the hummer pull up in the driveway with Tyler, Pogue, Caleb, Sarah, and Kate. "So Tyler _does_ actually get to drive his hummer," Abigail commented making Reid laugh. "Are you going to tell me?" she asked as she and Reid headed to pond behind the Coven manor.

"Let's just say Caleb and I don't see eye to eye on everything," Reid grumbled.

"What this time?"

"Let's not talk about it, okay? He thinks my—lets say approach to life—is going to end up hurting you."

She decided not to say it was sweet Caleb was concerned, so instead she bumped her shoulder against Reid. "So he doesn't think I can handle myself. I'm insulted," she sniffed.

Reid laughed as he laced up the skates. "I thought Hannah was the athletic one," Reid teased.

"Doesn't mean the rest of us are couch potatoes!" Abigail said throwing some snow at him. "Can you believe this winter? Crazy! December is never like this, but I love it."

She pulled Reid to his feet and glided out onto the ice. He watched her as she glided across and did some spins and jumps. She skated back to him. "What? Come on!"

"You are gorgeous, you know that?" he said wrapping his arms around her waist. He wanted to take every opportunity to tell her that, in case they didn't break the curse.

"You are pretty handsome yourself," she said laughing as he kissed her. They were interrupted when Caleb and Sarah arrived and she felt Reid tense up.

"What are you doing here?" Reid asked. He thought everyone else was back at the Covens manor and it would be just him and Abigail for a little while.

"I just came out to skate, teach Sarah a few moves," Caleb said with a grin.

"Why am I not surprised Caleb Danvers also enjoys ice skating?" Abigail said with a small grin. She turned to kiss Reid again while Caleb pulled his skates on, but couldn't get close enough. Since Reid was to busy glaring at Caleb she didn't bring it to his attention, but she _felt_ the signature of someone with power and she knew it was Chase. "May I cut in?" she heard Caleb behind her. She made herself skate off with him while she tried to figure out why Chase was there, and why he was trying to keep her from Reid. He didn't do anything when they were alone . . . she couldn't make sense of it.

"You alright? Everything with Reid alright?" Caleb asked concerned. She was distracted.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"No reason," he said quickly. "You just . . . seem upset. If it was something I could help with."

"Including beating up Reid?" she laughed.

"Well, hey, what is family for?" he teased as they were heading back to Reid.

"Is that what this is all about?" she asked quietly. "Believe me, Reid has done nothing but good for me. I wish I could say the same," she said sadly making Caleb look at her with concern as she skated closer to Sarah leaving Caleb alone on the ice.

Suddenly a blast of concentrated Power hit Caleb straight on, sending him flying across the pond and landing where Reid was a few feet off. "Caleb!" Sarah yelled as she started to skate close.

"Sarah, don't," Reid ordered knowing Caleb would want to protect her at all cost. "Stay there." No sooner had he finished warning her than another blast of Power landed on Caleb and Reid who had skated closer to help Caleb, knocking them unconscious. Sarah let out a scream as the ice cracked and the two boys fell through. "No!" Sarah and Abigail yelled. Abigail rushed forward but noticed the ice was starting to freeze back over supernaturally fast. "Chase!" Abigail yelled. "How dare you! How _dare _you!" Sarah, not following Reid's order, skated as fast as she could to join Abigail and help Caleb. She was close enough to see the gold flash in Abigail's eyes as they went pure white. "Wait! Abby!" she yelled as Abigail dove right into the hole in the ice. "No!" Sarah yelled as the ice closed over Abigail and she lost sight of all of them. "No."

Abigail pulled her Power around her to keep her dry and give her some breathing space. _Please don't die!_ she prayed. She thought she saw Reid's power envelope him when he fell in, and she hoped he did Use his Powers unconsciously. _Of all the times to NOT use!_ she thought. Caleb she was worried about because he was always too disciplined and wouldn't be able to use unconsciously. Even with all of his Power. She knew she should probably go to him first, but she swam to Reid. The water was murky making it impossible to see anything except what her power illuminated around her, but she kept heading in the direction she sensed his power.

He finally emerged in her line of vision and she gave a relieved sigh. She quickly reached out and grabbed him, feeling his Power enveloped around him and giving him breathing room. She pulled him close and blinked backed tears as she pressed her forehead against his. She knew she was wasting precious seconds to get to Caleb, but she wanted to reassure herself he was fine.

Knowing the ice had frozen back over, she materialized him onto the surface of the ice and hoped Sarah would look after him. She started swimming back down again and began looking for Caleb.

"Reid!" Sarah yelled surprised and happy when he appeared out of nowhere. She quickly made her way over to him and made it known she was protecting Reid in case whoever it was that attacked them was still waiting. "Reid, everything's okay now," Sarah whispered, wishing Caleb and Abigail would appear soon.

It seemed to last forever until Caleb finally emerged in her line of vision. _Please don't die!_ she thought as she saw his power didn't surround him and he just floated down deeper into the murky water. She Used to reach him as fast as she could. She reached out to grab his hand that was floating in the water. She could tell even before she touched him that he was dying. _Don't die!_ She ordered as she grabbed his hand. She could feel her Power respond to her command and when she reached for Caleb's hand she felt it leave her body and jump into Caleb's dying one. _Don't die,_ she repeated. She felt Caleb's heart start to beat again and felt him trying to gasp for air as the Power created an air pocket for him. She held on, willing her power to heal him, not caring how close to death he was or how much Power it was going to take. The cold of the water slammed into her as her protective bubble disappeared as her Power drained away and it took her breath away, chilling her to the bone and beyond. She used the last bit of Power she had before blacking out to materialize him above the ice. Her last thought before the darkness claimed her was that it wasn't meant to be this way.

She was supposed to burn.

"Caleb!" Sarah choked as he appeared right next to Reid. He was coughing and spitting up water and gasping for breath.

"Where's Abigail?" Reid demanded.

"Don't . . . know," he gasped out as Sarah threw her arms around him.

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_Bit of a cliff hanger : )  
Special thanks to **Susangel** (Good luck on your exams! I hope the chaos starts to simmer down for you. There is still more to come, though. As for Abby, she can't see her future . . . . . but maybe someone can see it for her? --hint, hint--__) **MischiefLover** (Ah, Reid just has older-brother syndrome. He's just looking out for both of them, so he thinks) **a.sam** (Wow, after that review I feel bad about leaving a cliffhanger! Sorry now you have to wait again!) **anangelwithnoname** (Thanks! I hope you enjoyed) **Anghel Ni Kamatayan** (I hope I spelled that right! Chase's short presence but it does have an impact : ) **heartbreakerginny** (hopefully people won't get to upset with Caleb's overprotectivness!) **EvilAngel** (Well, after this I don't think he'll have trouble with it, well, until he finds out Reid's doomed to die! lol. Gotta love the drama, as my beta would say.)  
_


	26. Here Comes the Bride

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit.

_AUTHOR'S NOTES--READ PLEASE!: I tried something different with the visions in this chapter. I hope everyone picks up on that! He-he. ALSO: There was a huge clue in the last chapter, about half of a sentence as to how to end this curse. I don't know if anyone caught it : )_

**Chapter 24: Here Comes the Bride**

Reid's eyes went black as he was about to materialize himself under when suddenly Abigail appeared before them lying on the ice. "Abby," Reid said as he dropped beside her. He checked and let out a relieved breath when he felt a thready pulse. He kissed her forehead. "Hang on," he whispered as he materialized them both in a cloud of fog.

Reid materialized in the Coven Manor House and let out a relieved sigh when he saw Patience in the room. "What happened?" she demanded as she rushed up.

"We were attacked," he said and a second later he flashed Caleb and Sarah inside.

"What can I do?" Reid asked Patience.

"Trust me," Patience said, her eyes flaring white and gold. She led Reid, who was still carrying Abigail, into the smallest parlor which was no more than 10 feet by 10 feet. As soon as she walked in a roaring fire in the hearth flared to life. "Hannah, blankets. Faith, tea," she ordered. "You might want to get Caleb. He looks almost as bad as her," Patience told the reluctant Reid. She and Violet took Abigail from Reid and brought her to the fire. They quickly took her wet clothes off her and used the towels Hannah had fetched to dry her off. They made a pallet in front of the fire.

A moment later Caleb, surrounded by the Sons, Sarah, and Kate, was brought in. "I hope you don't have any problems with modesty," she said but Caleb was not conscious enough to pay attention. She quickly tended to him as well, making another pallet in front of the fire next to Abigail for him. Faith poured 2 cups of tea, the steam swirling above the liquid. Violet and Faith helped to pour it down Caleb and Abigail's throats.

"How is she like this?" Violet asked. "I have never seen her so drained, not even after her death days," she whispered worriedly. All of the Coven women were surrounding Abigail, mothering her.

Patience placed a hand on both Abigail and Caleb's foreheads, the gold sparking furiously in her eyes as she Used. "Whatever dared attacked her we will find," Patience promised with both maternal and sisterly wrath. Caleb and Abigail's breathing became more steady and easy as she removed her hands. Faith handed Patience a cup of tea. She gulped it down.

"Don't you dare leave us, Abby," Violet ordered. In all of their attempts at breaking the curse, no one had been this close to actually dying, and they suddenly realized they weren't ready for it. None could imagine loosing Abby, who was the first fated to die, in a few years. "You can't leave us yet."

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Abigail woke up drowsy, warm, confused, but altogether comfy. Like a fairytale, or storybook character. She vaguely remembered a dream about a a rubber ducky and cotton candy. She noticed a fire burning and wondered why she fell asleep so close to it. She would hate it if her hair caught on fire, she loved her hair.

She sighed and realized she was holding a hand. She managed to roll her head and suddenly pain shot from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes. _When have I ever felt like this?_ She wondered. She saw Caleb sleeping near her, and realized it was his hand. She was relieved he was okay as memories of swimming in the pond came back to her. She took a sleepy glance around and was startled to see everyone, all the Sons, the Daughters, children, and significant others, were camping out. It seemed every blanket in the manor house was being used on Caleb and Abigail, yet the others still managed to find one.

A tingle of gratitude was the last thing she felt before drifting back off to sleep.

_The intensity of the love and despair, need to protect, drowned him. Regardless of their differences the last few years, he had to do what he could for her; the consequences were too dire, and the thought, no, the _knowledge_ of what _would_ happen suffocated him. He couldn't, wouldn't, let her go without a fight._

_Then he remembered the oath. _

_Damn them all, he thought. He needed to protect her, but was denied the one, sure way of doing so. _

_So he made a plan. He just would prevent his vision from coming true. So long as they never came for Charlotte, he wouldn't have to worry about breaking his oath to protect the power and keep it secret._

_Charlotte dying, the knowledge of the Power being let loose amongst the crazed citizens of Ipswich. . ._

_He was going to Hell either way, he realized._

The feelings, images, all swirled and suddenly the past became future, people that were recognizable, that were family.

_He recognized the grand ballroom of the Coven manor house. The decorations clearly indicated there was a wedding happening, and he looked around trying to see whose it was. He saw the line of groomsmen and was struck by how recognizable they were. He tried to get a closer look when he saw Sarah and his jaw would have dropped open if he didn't have more composure. She looked at least 20 years older. Still as lovely as ever, he thought, as she sat elegantly in the front pew reserved for family. Beside her were Kate and then Pogue. Tyler sat next to him and, surprised, he realized Chase had the seat closest to the isle and was comfortably in conversation with Tyler and Pogue like they had been friends all their lives. He wondered where he was momentarily, but was distracted once again with the realization Reid was also missing and something lurched in his gut._

_He looked back to the groomsmen and immediately saw who must be his son. He looked so much like him, except he had Sarah's eyes. Pride burst in his chest to see how good his son had turned out. The other Groomsmen looked like the Sons; it was both frightening and amusing. Little Chase grew up to be the spitting image of the original Chase. Next to him must have been Pogue's son. He had Pogue's bone structure and Kate's coloring. The best man, he realized, was Tyler's son. _

_Then Caleb got a good look at the groom and he realized he knew who it was._

_Reid._

_Yet it wasn't Reid. He knew it was Reid's son, he looked so much like Reid it was frightening. Caleb couldn't take his eyes off him, and what frightened him more was the sense of pride for this young man, as if he had been his own son. He looked back and forth between his son and Reid's son and realized he loved both of them like sons, the pride he felt for both of them made his heart overflow._

_That frightened him even more. He quickly looked around and noticed that it was a double wedding. He was so preoccupied he hadn't noticed. He looked at the second groom but he didn't recognize him at all so he dismissed him as he continued to look around and get his bearings. _

_The music started and the doors open to reveal the flower girl and ring bearer. Soon the first bridesmaid walked out and his gut gave another lurch. "Isn't it wonderful how her sisters make up the wedding party?" he heard another guest say. _

_First to walk out was a woman who was undoubtedly Faith's daughter and the name Charity came to mind somehow. She was followed by Peony who was a stunning young woman in her early 20s. She was followed by Isabel who had inherited Hannah's red hair. Last, as Maid of Honor, was Hope and his jaw did gape open. Hope was a beautiful woman in her late 20s. He took a quick second look at the flower girl and realized it must have been Hope's little girl. _

_The music changed and the first bride, Reid's bride, walked down the isle. He looked to young Reid, no William he corrected himself somehow knowing the name, and the joy and love he saw in his face was enough to light up an entire city. _

_The second bride was who caught his eye. The woman was such a perfect combination of Abigail and Reid it frightened him, but not nearly as much as how possessive, how much he cared for this woman. He saw himself walking her down the isle, waiting to give her away to the unknown man at the alter standing next to the next generation of The Sons. He felt protective, unwilling to let her go to this undeserving man. No one was good enough, no one was worthy of her. _

_He realized why Reid was missing. The sorrow that her father wasn't there for this important day, that neither Reid nor Abigail had been there for any of her days, intermingled with the pride he felt for this wonderful young woman . . ._

Caleb jerked awake and sat straight up, breathing hard. He looked around, confused, and realized Abigail was stretching awake herself, and looked as if she just woke up from a pleasant dream except for the tears running down her cheek. He looked around the room, and wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or smile.

Paul, Violet, Hannah, and their baby monitors were sleeping closest to the door. Sarah was asleep next to him, followed by Kate and then Pogue. He saw Reid surrounded by Faith, Tyler, and Patience as they all seemed to be keeping vigil over on the side next to Abigail. He was slightly amazed they all managed to fit into such a tiny room, and was touched they were all so worried.

"You're awake!" Hope said happily and loud enough to wake everyone else. There was a flurry of activity as everyone realized Abigail and Caleb had woken up. Patience looked over both of them as everyone tried talking to them at once.

"I need to talk to Abigail alone," Caleb said.

"What?"

"Please," he said. Finally everyone started piling out, some more reluctantly than others.

"What's wrong?" Abigail asked concerned.

"Bad dream."

"Hardly a dream."

"What?"

"Are you sure it was a dream?"

"I've never had visions before. Not one of The Sons has," Caleb said. He needed to talk to her, had to be reassured that it wasn't a vision but only a weird dream brought on by the traumatic events. "I saw the future, I saw your daughter and son getting married."

"It was lovely," she said sadly. "She was so happy, and so beautiful," she said sadly. "I . . . I fell in love with her immediately," she said sadly. "Caleb, thank you," she choked back on tears.

"For what?"

"For everything. For showing her to me, for loving her, for being you," she said holding back the tears. She would _not_ cry in front of him.

"You will see her," Caleb promised.

"She told me, I talked to her before you walked her down the isle. She said we didn't break the curse."

"We must, Chase was there."

"We helped him, but didn't find the answers soon enough," Abigail said.

"We will. It will work out."

"Not everything is meant to be,"

"Why wasn't Reid there?" Caleb demanded.

"I . . ."

"None of you were there, none of The Daughters, but neither was Reid. Chase was, but where the hell was Reid?"

"I don't know," she lied.

"He's caught up in this somehow, isn't he?" All Abigail could do was nod. "It's my fault," She said as she wrapped the blanket around her and made her way, slowly and painfully, towards the door.

"We will break this, and save Reid," Caleb vowed.

She looked at him sadly. "Did you see Tyler's son?" Caleb nodded. "Faith wasn't the mother." She opened the door to find Patience and Hannah on the other side, ready to help her to her bed. She avoided Reid and let her sisters mother over her as Paul carried her upstairs.

The others came in to surround Caleb. "I was so frightened!" Sarah said holding him close.

"You age well," he said making her look at him weird. "I saw you, in 20 years."

"I am sure I don't want to know. You were delusional. You need more sleep. Do you want to move to your bed? Are you comfortable? Do you still have a fever?" Sarah asked as she placed a hand against his forehead. "No, Patience said she took care of that. Maybe you have a concussion . . ." Caleb cut her off by placing a finger over her lips.

"I'm fine," he promised.

"I was so scared," Sarah said. "I don't know what I would do if Abigail hadn't have jumped in after you."

She had done a lot more than that, Caleb knew. He turned to Reid. "Thanks," he said surprising Reid. "I mean it, Reid. Thanks for trying to protect Sarah and me, and for bringing us in," he explained. Reid nodded.

"Why would Chase attack Abigail?" Pogue asked. "I don't get it."

"He didn't" Reid said. "He attacked Caleb."

"It's true," Sarah said when she saw Pogue's expression. "Reid got caught in the crossfire. His attacks were only aimed at Caleb. It seemed like he waited purposely until Abigail and I were far away from him."

"Bigger question," Caleb said making everyone look at him again. "How did she get back on the ice?"

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

"I was dying. She practically killed herself to save me. She couldn't have saved herself," Caleb said cryptically.

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_Yay for another chapter! Special thanks to my beta _WEASLEYxISxMYxKING _for getting this back to me so fast, and leaving me with such wonderful thoughts!! You rock! _

_Special thanks to my reviewers! **Luthien587** (Thank you! I do try to make my OC's believable, powerful yet vulnerable), **CSIMiamiLover **(I hope the wait wasn't to long!) **TaylorAlexandra **(I hope this was soon enough! Aftermath of all this to come soon : ) **a.sam **(lol. I am glad my updates cheer people up : ) **anangelwithnoname** (not to long between updates this time!!) **EvilAngel** (Phew! She's safe, for now . . .) **HeartbreakerGinny** (thanks!!) **Susangel** (I hope you liked this chapter too! This is my beta's favorite out of everything I've written--and she's beta'd all my stories. I'm glad the chaos is over for you! And I love family dynamics. As an author, though, I love cliffhangers : ) but as a reader I hate them. Hopefully when I bring Chase back in, it will be up to everyone's expectations . . .)_


	27. avoidance

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit.

_Author's notes: _Anna_ is the Hannah's childhood nickname. I can't remember if I put this in or if it was in the scene I had to cut out . . . _

_My beta wanted me to clarify that the vision in the previous chapter was a double wedding in the future of Reid and Abigail's son and daughter. Abigail only saw her son, William, from a distance. She was with her daughter, Deborah, behind the doors waiting for the wedding march to begin. Because her daughter inherited the gift of visions she was able to communicate with Abigail (will see more of this kind of communication later) : )_

**Chapter 25: Avoidance**

"Get some sleep," Patience said as she smoothed back Abigail's hair that was damp with sweat. "You are going to be perfectly fine."

"Keep Reid out, please," she whispered.

"Alright," Patience said. "He was really worried about you," Patience said. "He told us what happened. Well, what he knew."

"Next time, don't kill yourself to save one of them," Violet said. "Bring him back to us to help!"

"Wasn't time," Abigail said.

"Make time. We aren't ready to lose you," Hannah said clasping Abigail's hand. "How did you get back up?"

"Chase," Abigail said. "He . . ." she paused to sip some tea. "He was still there. He found me in the water. Sent me above the ice," she explained. "I'm not an empath, but I felt his sorrow, his worry, over me."

"Well he should be, I'll kill him for this," Hannah said.

"Anna," Abigail said. "He didn't attack me. He didn't even attack Reid. Reid threw himself in front of Caleb. I dove in of my own free will. He was only after Caleb."

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"Because I finally saw her," Abigail said dreamily.

Faith perked up over that. "Your daughter?"

"Both of them, my daughter and son. It was thanks to Caleb," she said happily. "She was beautiful. It was her wedding day. Oh, everything was so much better than I had ever dared dream. She was so happy, so in love. She said she knew I would come on her wedding day."

"You need to rest," Patience reminded her.

"I had named her Deborah," Abigail continued on. "Caleb was the one to have the vision. I saw it because I was still holding his hand," she said happily. "Patience, Hope was so good to all of the girls, and Chase, growing up. You would be so proud," she said happily. "And Chase, all of the babies, they all become so handsome and wonderful!" She wiped away a tear. "She said we missed something. We saved Chase," she told Hannah. "He was there. Just not us, or Reid," she said sadly.

They all kissed Abigail and left to let her have her private moment. Faith was the only one who stayed behind. She squeezed her hand. "I'm glad you finally saw them," she said tearing up herself. "You don't have to say it, you said we didn't break the curse," she said knowing what it meant for herself.

Abigail sat up and hugged Faith. They held onto each other as they cried. The image of her children's double wedding in the future was something she couldn't, and didn't want, to forget. Even though she had only been able to talk to her daughter, she caught a quick glance of her son and was determined to save them both, or save them from the sorrow. _We must have done something since Chase didn't fall prey to the curse . . ._

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"What is going on?" Reid demanded three days later. It was the longest three days of his life because Abigail was avoiding him. It was worse than before they had started dating because this time the sisters seemed to pity him even more than normal. "What the hell happened that she won't even answer my calls?"

"All she says is that she doesn't want to see anyone," Patience said sadly. She understood why Abigail had refused to see him, and had agreed to keep him at bay, but she had grown to like Reid and was sorry to anger him. _Better angry than dead,_ Abigail had said and Patience had agreed with her.

"Patience, what the hell did she see?"

"She didn't have a vision," Patience said truthfully.

"What does that mean?" he asked exasperatedly. "She saw something, something that spooked her."

"The truth is it made all of us sad," Patience said. It was the truth—none of them wanted Reid to die. Somehow they had all started to care for him as an unofficial brother. "But she didn't have a vision." She decided Abigail was going to hate her for this, but if Reid would make her sister happy for the last few years she had, so be it. "She saw something, but she wasn't the one who had the vision," she hinted as she walked back inside leaving Reid to think it over.

It took all of five seconds for it to hit him, and when it did he was beyond angry. He materialized himself onto the front porch of the Danvers manor and let himself in. He had a brief moment to be thankful Caleb's mom was out when he stormed in on Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler in the front parlor with Kate and Sarah. "We tried calling you . . . what's wrong?" Tyler asked. "Abigail still ignoring you?"

"We'll talk to her . . ." Kate stopped, seeing how furious Reid was. His eyes were coal black but he somehow managed to refrain himself from using—so far.

"What the hell did you tell her, Caleb?"

"What?"

"You heard me. What the hell did you see?"

"Caleb doesn't see visions," Pogue said trying to calm Reid down. Tyler instinctively took a few steps closer to Reid while Pogue moved in front of Kate and Sarah. "None of the Sons have."

"That's a bunch of bullshit, Pogue. We know the original Danvers did, and it seems Pretty Boy Caleb here has picked up on the family tradition," Reid seethed. "What.Did.You.See?" he raised his voice at the end.

"What does it matter?" Caleb asked. "Did you ever think maybe this is for the best?" Reid sent a blast of power that caught Caleb unaware and sent him flying over the sofa.

"I am sick of you always _dictating_ what is best for everyone, Caleb. This is _my_ life."

"If you are just going to get yourself killed then maybe someone _needs_ to dictate your life," Caleb yelled and blocked Reid's next attack. The one right after that happened too quick for him to react, though, and sent him flying into a wall. He didn't know Reid had it in him to be this powerful and made a mental note not to piss him off again any time soon.

"You don't even know all of the facts and yet you are already taking charge, and making decisions that aren't yours to make," Reid seethed as Tyler and Pogue held him back.

"I know you die!" Caleb yelled jumping up. "I am _NOT_ okay with that! I don't give a care if we save Chase or not, but I am not going to lose one brother even if it is for the greater good."

Reid pushed Pogue and Tyler off. "It never has been, nor will it ever be your decision, Caleb. I've already accepted it."

"Too bad, because I will not let you die. Not even for Abigail, or breaking this curse on our families. Let some other generation do it for all I care."

"You don't get it, do you? I can't walk away from this, Caleb. So either get with the program or just stay the hell away from us," he said aligning himself with the Coven sisters.

"Would somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?!" Kate demanded. "Not that two handsome men slugging each other out isn't wonderful, but what the hell is this all about?"

"I saw them, Reid. Do you know what that is like? To have my very first vision ever and to see _that_!"

"Caleb, how did you have a vision? You never have before."

"I think it was Abigail, when she brought me back from almost dying. I think it was her Power that jump-started mine," Caleb said having given it some thought over the last few days. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"So I could deal with this before we even had a relationship?" Reid huffed. "Yeah, blonde and reckless, but not stupid."

Sarah and Kate exchanged confused glances. They thought they knew all the big secrets, having lived with a majority of the sisters for the last few months. "Would someone start at the beginning?" Sarah asked.

"Is this what Faith has been hiding?" Tyler asked, a cold fury buried underneath his tone.

"She hasn't told you?" Reid asked. Tyler shook his head.

"I wish someone would tell us," Kate muttered.

"He dies," Caleb said. "Sometime before Abigail does."

"How?" Pogue asked. Caleb shrugged, and turned to look at Reid for and explanation.

"Okay, well, do we have an idea when?" Sarah asked.

"No," Caleb said the same time Reid said, "Yes."

"What? When? How? So many questions," Kate said frustrated.

"Caleb, Reid, someone just explain what the hell is going on," Pogue demanded.

"What did you see?" Reid demanded again. Caleb thought that since he didn't try to take another swing at him (with a fist or Power) he must be calming down.

"I saw Deborah and William's wedding," he said.

"Who?" Pogue asked as Caleb saw realization dawn in Reid's eyes. "And Abby saw it too?" Caleb nodded. "Damn it," Reid muttered. "William? I am going to have to talk to her about that. I always thought something like Reid Jr," he said with a smirk.

"Can we get serious here?" Caleb demanded. "This isn't funny, Reid. This isn't you just flirting or Using recklessly. Damn it, this is serious, this is your life we're talking about."

"And you think I don't know that? I have been dealing with this for longer than you know." Before any of the others could say anything he started to explain. "The Danvers' woman's husband or lover always dies before the baby is born. Charlotte Danvers was married but her husband died a month before her child was born, and that tradition has continued on like the family traditions of burning and drowning to death. Just like Paul, I might add, also is tied up in all this."

"Paul isn't our brother," Tyler fumed. "Why didn't you tell me? You should have, could have, told _me_ Reid. And Faith didn't tell me either." The fact that both betrayed him was like a double edged knife.

"None of the Daughters did," Pogue said. Tyler sent him a look since he wasn't dating any of them.

"If all went according to plan, we'd break the curse and it wouldn't matter. And if not, you wouldn't spend the next however much time treating me differently."

"How much time?" Pogue asked.

"Well, if Abby ignores me, than awhile," he huffed. "Which, by the way, is entirely your fault. She isn't even mad at me for something I did."

"Like I said, it's for the best. I mean, first you and Tyler talking about you and Abby living together in a few years, then the trip to Europe, now we find out you are going to _die_!"

"Caleb, it's my feelings that determine this, not hers. She could go get knocked up by whoever she sees first, but it's whoever has feelings for her that dies."

Caleb ran a hand through his hair. "So, we need to find Chase, then," he gave in.

"And get Abigail talking to me again," he said. "And more food for thought: it was Charles Danvers that killed Charlotte's husband," he said before he dematerialized out again, leaving Caleb staring at him in shock.

"What a way to leave a room—torn between throttling you and mourning you," Kate said shaking her head.

Reid appeared in the attic (Ipswich Manor House) knowing Abigail used it as a place to write and practice her Power. He was disappointed when he didn't find her. He walked down to her bedroom but she wasn't there either. He thought she would be finishing her latest manuscript but her laptop was turned off. "Reid?" Faith asked as she walked out of her bedroom and ran into him. "You shouldn't be here."

"Faith, not now."

She huffed. "You know, Garwin solidarity only goes so far. I'd skin you before I'd let you hurt her."

"But I haven't hurt her."

"No," Faith admitted, "but you will. She doesn't want you to die."

"Not her decision. Tyler might stop by later," he warned her. He walked out back—avoiding the other sisters—and walked to the greenhouse at the back of the manor. He finally was forced to admit defeat and headed back to the Garwin Estate. His mother must have picked up on his mood because she had all of his favorite dishes prepared for dinner to try to coax his appetite.

The rest of the week proved as futile. Even before he and Abigail had started dating, when she would avoid him and his efforts, they never went this long without some sort of talking or communication. Even if it was just her hanging up on him. He wondered what she was doing, and how she managed to avoid him for this long.

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_I am so excited with where this story is going! And that so many people are still interested in it!_

_Special thanks to **a.sam** (did you catch it? It comes up again in a few chapters if you didn't : ) **evilangel** (yup! Chase still has a soft spot for the Daughters, lol), **anangelwithnoname** (thank you! it was one of my beta's favorite chapters too!) **heartbreakerginny** (Thank you so much!) **TaylorAlexandra** (Well, I can't say one way or the other yet ;) I have no problem killing characters off, I have before, but I am a sucker for happy endings too, lol), **Susangel** (It's alright if you missed the clue. It will be explained soon. Chase's wrath is directed at Caleb. After the incident in the barn, his memories aren't all there, and he remembers it as Caleb attacking him) **MischiefLover** (No! I don't want to loose a reviewer! I make up nicknames people/characters too : ) **Evil Bunny of Death** (love the name! : ) THanks!_


	28. Unending Questions

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit. OC's and plot belong to me

**Chapter 26: Unending Questions **

"_Something worked right," Deborah had said. "Something, because Uncle Chase is alive. I wouldn't say happy, he hasn't been happy since Aunt Hannah died. But you did something right. You just missed something. . ."_

What had they missed? Since she had no idea what they would try, she had no idea what they would miss. And how had they saved Chase from being looped in the curse? Her first reaction was that he didn't love Hannah. But she quickly dismissed it. She knew, she had felt, his love for her, and her daughter confirmed it. So how did that happen? She had hoped being a Son would save them from their fate, but she ruled that out since Reid died.

_So many more questions and no more answers,_ she thought frustrated. She poured another cup of tea from the pot. She was confident Reid wouldn't find her here unless one of her sisters ratted on her. It was the old Putram estate that everyone—including the Ipswich historical society—had forgotten about. So, she decided to use the rest of the Winter break to put some distance between her and Reid, and to figure out what they could possibly miss on the curse. She knew the others were working on it as well.

She pulled out her notes on the prophecies. She hadn't looked at them since that night long ago with Reid when she confessed to him the fate of the Danvers. She didn't know why she never picked them back up. Maybe she wasn't meant to until now.

She looked at the largest grouping of prophecies. She had whittled them down, crossing out the ones that had already come to pass, were not destined to come to pass during her lifetime, or had absolutely no concern for their present situation. Then she categorized them as best she could. Mainly because she noticed one prophecy in particular continually popped up. The wording was always slightly different, but the meaning was clear.

_Two wholes to rectify the rift. _

_What one has torn and broken shall be made anew by two._

_Two bloodlines are necessary to renew the bonds._

Her personal favorite in this repetitive prophecy was: _Only when two complete covens shall rejoin their houses shall old scores be settled, old wounds healed, time passed on, goodbyes finally settled, and old scores wiped clean. _Nice, clean, straightforward if a little repetitive. If only all prophecies were that easy, she sighed.

So, this was the time, she thought. She had once told Reid that maybe Fate was ready for them to make amends, and it seemed she was right. Two complete covens were needed to break the curse. Well, they HAD to find Chase and complete the male Coven.

She glanced at the quick hand written note that circled another prophecy. She didn't remember reading it, but it was her hand writing. _Old wounds, left to fester, shall have to be overcome to achieve the greater unity. Old adversary is needed to bring closure to all,_ the prophecy said_. _She smiled when she saw she had written CHASE!! : ) all in caps next to that prophecy with a smilie face. She took another sip of tea, when suddenly another prophecy caught her eye. One she hadn't read before.

_Birth and death, the judgment of all, shall happen on the same earth._

That one puzzled her. She hated puzzles. She reached for her cell phone as she finished writing her notes and was about to call Violet when Faith popped in crying. "Fae? What on earth happened?" Abigail asked quickly. She shut the book, unknowingly closing it before reaching a vital prophecy on the next page.

"I do the right thing and he hates me for it!" Faith yelled. "It wasn't mine to tell! I keep telling him that, that it was not my secret to disclose, and he doesn't listen."

"Tyler?" Abigail asked. "He's the reasonable one, he will listen. About what?"

"Reid!" Faith yelled. "He is furious with me because I didn't tell him his best friend is going to die. I told him I didn't want Reid to die, none of us do! But he is mad that I didn't tell him, that I always just said 'Garwin Solidarity' whenever he asked."

"Faith, I'm sorry," Abigail said hugging her. "It is my fault."

"Hell no. We will blame this on Reid. HE should have told Tyler."

"Tyler will come to see that and be mad at him, not you. I'm sure, he is the reasonable one after all."

"Abby, you saw it yourself that it doesn't work out with me and Tyler," Faith cried. Abby simply held her while she sobbed. "This is why I didn't want anyone," she hiccupped. "I was always so damn careful, you know that. Damn him!"

"Shh," Abigail whispered. "We will figure it out. How good are you at puzzles?"

"Our family doesn't have a good track record," Faith said making Abigail laugh. "And Tyler is the reasonable one. He is damn reasonable when he is arguing with you," she huffed. "It is so infuriating!" She threw the nearest object she could grab—an old vase—against the wall. She broke down crying again.

"We can turn him into a jackass," Abby volunteered.

"With really long ears?" Faith asked. Abby nodded as she stroked her hair. "I am staying with you until the semester begins. If I see _any_ of the Sons, I can't be held accountable for my actions." Since Abigail knew they needed _all_ of them, and most likely not in a vegetative state, she agreed.

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She gave a sigh of frustration when Reid popped into her car suddenly. It was the first week of classes for the new semester. "Tell Tyler that just because I need you all alive doesn't necessarily mean I need you all human," she said coldly.

"Not even a hello? I know what you are doing, Abby."

"Really?" she drawled.

"Why the hell does everyone think I need protection?" Reid demanded. "It's my damn life. Damn, Paul said it was tough, but having to fight _all _of you constantly on this is ridiculous. Did you do this with Paul?"

"We still do," Abby glared at him as she drove. "How do you think Violet feels? Guilty as hell," Abigail said before Reid could respond. "She curses herself everyday for bringing this on him. Her mother felt the _exact _same way, as did Hannah's mother and my mother. Do you know what it feels like to curse someone you care for to die? _This_ is the only way I know how to protect you, Reid."

"I never asked for your protection," he simmered. "I chose this, Abigail. You told me what was going on, what would happen. I made that choice."

"You're 18 now, Reid. It's too young to write off the rest of your life," she said sadly. "Believe me, I know."

"Damn it. Alright. First of all, William?" he asked making her gape at him. "I guess I could get use to that. Second of all, Tyler was an ass, I know. Believe me, I have already ripped into him about that, and he was pissed at me too over all of this. But we will be fine. We will _all_ be fine," he promised. "I am picking you up tomorrow at 6," he said with finality as he got out and grabbed the bags of groceries in the back seat. She just sat there befuddled. She was torn between laughing, crying, and beating him senseless. She leaned her head against the steering wheel and took a deep breath to steady herself. The knock on the window startled her. "So, is Reid still officially part of the family?" Hannah teased. Abigail stuck her tongue out at her as Hannah laughed and headed inside.

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_Not as long, but full of some goodies and clues : ) Special thanks to my beta, WeasleyXisXmyXking for reading and sending this back in a day! Not only do you read everything I write (which is a lot, it seems) but you even reviewed this story! You are the best!_

_Last chapter tied for the most reviews for any single chapter! Yay! Special thanks to **ReidsGirl** (It is going to get much more intense before it is all over.) **evilangel** (Caleb didn't kill Reid-- sorry for the confusion! I meant the original danvers guy killed the original danver's woman's husband. But the vision was sad-- a future without Reid :( **MischiefLover** (Ah, Thanks! I am so glad people are liking Reid!) **tayloralexandra** (Ah, thanks hon! Reid has his moments . . . actually, I give him a lot of moments, lol. He has the most screentime of any of the sons.) **Evilbunnyofdeath** (More bad before any potential good . . .) **heartbreakerginny** (Thanks! I am so amazed how popular this story is with everyone!) **a.sam** (Ah, no worries, it will be explained in a few chapters . . . there are more hints in this chapter, though : ) **anangelwithnoname** (Thank you!!) **rukie** (Hopefully the wait wasn't to bad!) **susangel **(Thank you! Abigail's daughter pretty much told them what they know, so no new information from her, just more questions than answers right now.)_


	29. One to Fall

Disclaimer: OCs and plot belong to me, otherwise nada. I don't profit from this either (except in the wonderful reviews : )

**Chapter 27: One to Fall**

It was the end of the first week of lectures for the new semester, and Faith had heard out about the party. She told Abigail and Kate about it, and then dressed to impress. Not Tyler, she told herself. She didn't even know if he was going. She didn't care, she lied to herself. She would just go, find the first hot guy she could find, and flirt. Hell with it all.

Abigail met her downstairs. "Either you are trying to make Tyler pay, or . . ."

"Tyler who?" faith huffed. "Hell, I am not the first Garwin woman to be slighted," she said and was glad when Abigail switched the conversation to shoes. They took the train and arrived to find the party well into full swing. "Don't worry about me," Faith said as Reid found Abigail. "Have fun. I fully intend to," she said with a grin. She saw a hint of pain in Abby's eyes, and knew that she saw underneath Faith's façade, but didn't comment on it.

Reid and Abby kept an eye on her all night. It gave them an excuse not to talk about themselves. "I told Faith I would turn Tyler into a jackass," Abby commented as they watched Faith drink and flirt some more. "And if she does something stupid tonight over him, I swear I will."

"I probably should stand up for Tyler, he is always one of the better one of us, but I might help you with that," he said.

They watched Faith get a little to friendly with someone—a very hot, hockey player, Abigail noticed—but before they could go and pull her off of him and stop Faith from doing something she would later regret,Tyler was there out of nowhere and pulled her away after punching out the hockey player. She and Reid shared a grin, then quietly followed them wanting to eavesdrop. Afterall, what were good friends for?

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Faith?"

"Exactly like you told me: screwing the nearest guy since all I was looking for out of this was a sperm donor," she said repeating his words.

Reid squeezed Abigail's hand when he felt her power flair up. "Damn it, Faith."

"No, damn you Tyler. You don't want me then fine. I wasn't meant to have your son or you to have my daughter. So I am free as a bird," but she didn't sound so thrilled by the idea. Abigail rested her head against Reid's chest as she listened to their argument. She wanted to smack some sense into both of them.

"So, since you probably scared off Jared, I guess I'll have to start all over again," Faith said and started to turn away when Tyler caught her hand, spun her around, and kissed her angrily. "Free, hell," he muttered, as he kissed her passionately again.

Abigail had to slap a hand over her mouth and Reid's to keep them quiet. Reid looked as if he was in pain from trying not to laugh, she herself was sorely tempted to as well. They snuck out so as not to disturb them and made it back to the party where they both burst into laughter.

"I hope Faith doesn't want to turn him into a jackass anymore," Reid said trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, I'll talk her out of it if she does. But I don't think I'll have to," she said wiping away a tear. She was clutching her sides she was laughing so hard. She heard Reid say they had left the party. "Good for them," she wheezed out.

"I think we should too," he grinned mischievously.

"And why would _you_ want to leave a party?" She would happily leave; she wasn't into them the same way everyone else was.

"To go to our own private party," he whispered seductively in her ear. Right then one of the jocks puked.

"Well that certainly put things in your favor," she announced. Reid smirked and grabbed her hand. When they were out of sight he materialized them out.

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"Aunt Abby!" Hope yelled running in. The end of January and all the dreary weather had certainly done nothing to dampen the young girl's spirits.

"Hope!" Abby said happily and equally enthusiastic.

"Can we please _please_ have a day?" she pleaded with big, puppy-dog eyes. "Mom said it has to be okay with all of you!"

"And what kind of day?" Abigail teased knowing what her niece meant. "A rainy day? A sunny day? Oh, I know," She said making Hope grin. "A school day."

Hope frowned. "But I already have school days," she said in her exasperated six year old voice. "I want a mommy and daughters day!"

"Well, we haven't had one in a long time," Abigail said and was shocked to realize they hadn't had one in nearly a year. "Faith!" she called and Faith popped in a moment later. "Hope wants a mommy and daughters day."

"Wow, it's been a long time," Faith said sitting on Abigail's bed.

"Do you remember the rules?" Abigail asked Hope.

Hope nodded excitedly. "yup!"

"Have you missed any school days this year?" Faith asked.

"One, when I had that bad throat," Hope said sadly thinking it would ruin her chances.

"Well, that isn't bad," Faith assured her making Hope perk up. "Please!" Hope pleaded.

"Well, I think we can arrange it," Faith winked at Abigail. "How about Friday? Then we can have a three day weekend," Faith decided.

"That's fine with me. I only have one lecture, and Kate is in the class. I can borrow her notes, I hope," Abigail said wondering if that would be okay. Things where still a little rough between all of them.

"Thank you!" Hope yelled, hugging them both. "Mommy!" she yelled going to look for Patience.

Faith laughed. "Hope makes me look forward to having my own daughter. Even if I don't get to see her that old," she said.

Abigail nodded somberly and went back to her textbook. "What's wrong?"

"I need to talk to you," Abigail said. She flicked her wrist and her door shut and locked. "I went back through the prophecies again yesterday," she said. Faith noticed she didn't meet her eyes. "It concerns both of us."

"Okay," Faith said, getting a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Abigail got up and unlocked a secret drawer in her closet. She pulled out the book of prophecies and turned to the page she had bookmarked. "I didn't know how to tell you. I was so shocked when I read this yesterday, I think I just tried to block it out of my mind and forget about it."

"Abigail you are scaring me." Abigail laid the book on the bed between them so Faith could read the one she pointed to.

_Five daughters there are in the twilight of choices. The generation of reconciliation holds 10 in hand, yet one shall meet her fate and the veil between worlds before the begetting of an heir on the dawning of a new morning._

Faith slapped a hand over her mouth in shock. "No," she said looking at Abigail. Both of their eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

"But how can that be? You saw! Your daughter said . . ."

"I don't know. The future isn't solid, Faith. Maybe we didn't see this prophecy before? Maybe we only saved Chase and we aren't the generation meant to break the curse."

"Do you think we are the generation?" Faith asked knowing whatever Abigail felt would be right.

Abigail nodded. "Everything is telling me we are the ones meant."

"Then this could only mean me or you," Faith said. "We are the only ones without an heir. But . . . what do we do?"

"I don't know," Abigail said lost. "For right now, I am going to have a mother and daughter day with Hope, Isabel, Chase, and Peony. That's all I know to do."

"I, well, I don't want to tell the others, not yet," Faith said. "Not until this sinks in, or we figure out something. Just more time." Abigail nodded in agreement. "Have you, well, seen anything?" Abigail shook her head sadly.

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_Huge thanks to **Rukie** (I hope you get a chance to read this when you get back!) **LuckyStar** (thanks! Things just have to get even more complicated : ) **EvilAngel** (Thank you!) **TaylorAlexandra** (The puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place . . .) **a.sam** (ah, and I go and throw another monkey wrench into the situation!) **heartbreakerginny** (Ah, thank you! This story is now officially the one with the most hits!) **susangel** (Ah, thank you! The two wholes meant two whole covens/covenants. Which they finally can have now that everyone knows the other exists and Chase is alive), **MischiefLover** (wow, thanks! I love the books you can't put down! Is there anything in particular that's confusing?) **anangelwithnoname** (Thanks!!)_


	30. Parents and Children Day

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit.

* * *

**Chapter 28: Parents and Children Day**

Friday morning dawned bright and cool, but without the threat of snow or rain. "Perfect," Faith thought. She was determined to enjoy what could possibly be her last mother and daughter day—or what Abigail had renamed Parents and Children day in honor of Chase and all the other men who had been in the Coven family.

She heard the door open and knew it would be Patience and Violet dropping off Hope and Peony. "Breakfast?" Faith asked Hope, who nodded enthusiastically. "Wait, rule one," Faith reminded her.

"Bye mom! Now go!" Hope said excitedly.

"Bye daughter!" Patience laughed and waved to them all and left with Violet and Hannah who had come down to leave with them. Hannah was almost as excited as Hope because it was her first day as a mother. "Now!" Faith said excitedly to Hope. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Ice cream!" Hope said excitedly.

"Okay, what kind?" Faith said opening the freezer. "We have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and cookie dough."

"Cookie dough!" Abigail yelled as she came in. "Ice cream!" she said making Hope laugh. "Peony I think will take a bottle," Abigail said as she prepared a bottle for Peony and got the baby cereal for Isabel and Chase. Isabel and Chase were chatting happily but unintelligently in their high chairs. "I think they know it's the day!" Hope said excitedly.

"Alright missy, here is your ice cream," Faith said placing the bowl in front of Hope. "With syrup." Hope's eyes bugged out in happiness.

"Rule number 2?" Abigail prompted.

"Mom doesn't know anything about what we do," Hope said eating happily.

"Perfect!" Faith said grabbing a bowl of ice cream for herself as she handed Abigail one.

"So what do you want to do?" Abigail asked.

"Can we go to the kids museum? Then the toy store? Oh, a movie!" Hope said excitedly.

"Yes, yes, and yes," Faith said, smiling as Hope beamed in complete happiness.

"Okay, first we have to grab things for the babies. You can watch cartoons while we do," Faith said and watched Hope find some ridiculous and colorful cartoon on the t.v. She and Abigail cleaned up after the babies and then grabbed all the diaper bags to place under the stroller and strung them on the handle bars.

The doorbell was a shock to all of them. "Tyler?" Faith asked completely surprised. Things had been a little rocky with them since the grand unveiling, as she thought of it, but they were starting to smooth over their issues. She didn't expect him to ditch class today, though.

He grinned, seeing the surprised look on Faith's face as she held Peony in her arms. "Surely this cold isn't good for her," Tyler said. Faith stepped aside so he and Reid could come in.

"We heard it was ditch day," Reid said happily.

"Only for Hope, and the moms," Faith said. "It's more like work for me and Abby," she said trying to explain. "I . . ." she got cut off as Peony burped and dribbled all over her shoulder. Faith groaned inwardly.

_Great, baby puke all over me in front of my boyfriend,_ Faith thought, wondering just how this day would go since it was starting out _so_ wonderfully. She could tell she would be ending it with a few aspirin.

She turned to head upstairs to change. "Thanks, P," she whispered to Peony. "Of all the times to go and have another burp after Abigail already burped you," she whispered. "When you are older, and trying to make a good impression, I'm sure you will understand," she explained as she laid Peony on the changing table.

"Oddly, it isn't as bad as you are thinking." Tyler's voice from the doorway startled her so badly she jumped a foot in the air.

"Yeah, not every girl can pull off baby puke," she agreed.

"No, only mine," he grinned and kissed her, glad to have startled her. It wasn't often.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, confused.

"Ditch day."

"Mother's and daughter's day," she clarified.

"I heard it was Parent and Child day," he said.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot Abby renamed it," she said. "That doesn't answer my question, though."

"Well . . ." he said embarrassed. "I heard Caleb's vision again. And once I got past the surprise and anger that Reid was gone, I realized something else." She looked at him expectantly. "There was no _us_. Not only had we not broken the curse, but you weren't his mother," he said referring to his future son.

"Some things aren't meant to be," she said sadly.

"I refuse to believe that," he said stubbornly. "Just as I refuse to believe Reid has to die. I mean, somehow Chase was saved, so we will save everyone," he stated.

"I hope so, but I don't know if we can," she said, thinking of the prophecy.

"We will," he said. "But . . . I want to spend as many of these family outings with you as possible," he said, leaving unspoken that they may not have too many together.

If only he knew.

"Let me change, and I will meet everyone downstairs," she said. She had changed Peony's diaper and Tyler picked her up to carry downstairs. She smiled seeing it, wishing with all her heart that one day it would be their daughter (or son, she remembered) he would be carrying.

_Shit, that condemns Abigail,_ she realized and wanted to puke herself. _No thoughts of THAT today,_ she ordered herself. She would just put it out of her mind completely.

Abigail had her hands full with the twins and Hope. "Hope, dear, you have to grab the jackets for the twins okay? I am going to grab the diaper bags and start stuffing," she said and heard Hope say a very happy and energetic hello to Reid. "And what on earth are you doing here?" she asked, semi frazzled as she finished with the infants and packing snacks.

"It's a ditch day. I always celebrate ditch day, even if they aren't mine," he smirked.

Abigail rolled her eyes. "Believe me, you might want to rethink that philosophy today." She threw the bags of food on the counter next to the diaper bags.

"Okay," Faith said, coming down as Tyler managed to bundle up Peony; Reid, with help from Hope, got Chase and Isabel ready. "Diaper bags with ginormous amounts of diapers?"

"Check!" Abigail hollered.

"Small pharmacy?"

"Check!"

"Food to feed the battalion?"

"Check!"

"The-world-is-coming-to-an-end-but-we-will-survive kit?"

"CHECK!" Abigail hollered making Reid and Hope snicker.

"Then I think we are ready for this adventure."

"Is there room for the babies?" Tyler asked eyeing the strollers.

"I hope so. Babies?" Faith asked.

"Check, check, check, and check," Abigail said counting them all. "Three babies, one Hope, two frazzled nursemaids, two adorable boyfriends, and enough baby gear to open a small boutique. I think we are ready!" she told Hope, who did the happy dance only a six year old could do.

They somehow managed to make it to the T station without any mishaps. "Ice cream for breakfast?" Reid teased. "This must be one awesome day," he told Hope.

"Yup, but you can't tell mom what we are doing."

"So what _is_ today, anyways?" Tyler asked.

"Day when the parents and children don't see each other. Like a big vacation. Moms, and the dad who are here, get a child free day, daughters, and now Chase, get a parent free day. Our grandmothers came up with it. Hippies," Faith said as if that explained it all.

"I love it," Reid said grinning.

"Big surprise there," Tyler jabbed him. Faith and Abigail maneuvered the strollers onto the train like experts, Reid and Tyler noticed. "So what is on the agenda."

"Ask Hope, she is in charge today," Faith said with a wink.

"First the museum!" she said happily.

"Alright, children's museum it is," Abigail said.

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After the museum, which Reid and Tyler discovered was really a lot of fun when you went with an actual kid, they spent some time playing in the park. "Apple?" Abigail asked as they got back on the train. Hope took it and began to munch, looking out at the scenery. Abigail smiled and took her apple, which she had already eaten most of, and let Isabel try to gnaw on it. Isabel smiled happily whenever she saw the apple coming. She switched back and forth between Isabel and Chase.

"You are really good with them," Reid said.

"Makes up for not being with mine," She said sadly.

"You will. We will," he promised.

"Let's not talk about it," she said. "So what do you want to buy Hope?"

"I think Peony needs a teddy bear," Hope said thoughtfully. "And Isabell too. Do boys like teddy bears?" she asked Reid and Tyler.

"I think Chase is young enough it is okay," Tyler said. "But nothing girly," he warned making Hope snicker.

They got off, which Hope regretted since she was chatting happily with a boy around her age with adorable chestnut brown curls, and found a large toy store. "Peony!" Hope said happily. "I think this one is hers." She handed Abigail a bright, happy pink one. Abigail was grateful Reid and Tyler were there for the simple reason that one of them could push the cart. She was pushing the stroller with Isabel and Chase while Faith had the stroller with Peony and Hope's hand.

Hope picked out a teddy bear for Isabel and Chase—a matching set, Abigail noticed laughing. Then she ran around finding something for herself.

"Now lunch," Faith said, looking at her watch. "I remember when Patience would take us out like this," She said happily as they watched Hope play and run around.

"It was the only time she wouldn't yell at us to eat healthy," Abigail laughed.

"I think she enjoyed it, too."

"Are we going to see a movie? Can we please?" Hope asked

"It is the day for fun," Abigail said with a smile.

They stood outside and Hope read what movies were playing. "What do you want to see? I think someone needs a diaper change," Abigail said. "I'll be back." She strolled into the theater and the women's restroom.

"We can't all go," Faith said muttering to herself when Hope decided on a movie. She and Abigail, who had just gotten back, exchanged looks.

"You go, I'll take them," she gestured to the babies. Faith went to buy tickets.

"So now what?" Reid asked as he joined her outside.

"I think they are ready for their nap," Abigail said. She was gently rocking the two strollers forward and backwards and the babies were falling asleep. "Didn't they look cute? Faith and Tyler with Hope I mean."

Reid flashed her his trademark grin. "I know. He is afraid they won't get this family time together . . . or be a family, really," he admitted. Reid didn't know what that felt like—he knew he and Abigail would be together.

"I think they are ready to go home," she said pointing to the babies. "I'll send Faith a text message. Do you want to stay? She won't bring Hope back until late," she said. "Hope is old enough to enjoy the whole day."

"As fun as it would be to help Hope spend her first night on the town," he laughed, "I think I will go with you."

"Yes, because baby puke, diapers, and screaming babies are _so_ much fun," Abigail grinned. She was also glad, though, that Faith and Tyler would get this alone time, even if it was with an over exuberant six year old as a chaperon.

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_Special thanks to all my wonderful readers and reviewers! **TaylorAlexandra** (I love twists and turns : ) But I am also a sucker for HEA. We'll see what happens . . .) **heartbreakerginny **(thanks!!) **Susangel** (Ah, thanks! Faith and Tyler are my beta's favorite couple and she loves it when I put more of them in : ) **Mischieflover** (Hopefully it doesn't get to complicated. I think I explain everything in the end, lol. My beta liked the ending so hopefully everyone else will too!) **a.sam** (He-he. Twists and turns, I love them! I am pretty sure that is the last twist, now things just need to play out). **Sexyone** (Thanks!!) **anangelwithnoname** (sorry for any delays! Hope you enjoyed!) **moan6stars** (HI! Thank you! I love hearing from new reviewers!) **Grlwithoutaname** (I thought so too! Partly why I decided to write it.)_


	31. What Must be Done

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this writing.

Someone asked for this, so here is the family tree : ) I put it in order of the girls ages, oldest to youngest. Keep in mind (please!) that when I say related to which Son, they are around 14th cousins or so . . .

Patience (single)-- Hope (daughter) -- related to Tyler

Violet (Maried to Paul)-- Peony (daughter) -- related to Pogue

Hannah (was with Chase) -- Isabel and Chase (Children) -- related to Chase

Faith (dating Tyler) -- no daughter -- related to Reid

Abigail (dating Reid) -- no daughter -- related to Caleb

* * *

**Chapter 29: What Must be Done**

The middle of February found the Sons and Daughters high in the mountains of New Hampshire. They were in a remote resort they had rented for Friday and Saturday since they had a long weekend with several days off. It was Saturday morning, and everyone was playing in the snow: Patience and Paul helping Hope to build a snowman while the other infants took a nap, a snowball fight between the Sons versus Sarah, Kate, Violet, and Hannah, while Faith and Abigail walked in the snow talking about prophecies. "I almost forget about the prophecies, the shortage of years, all the normal stuff," Faith admitted. "Sometimes it is so easy, like now."

"I know. But something I don't understand is how one of us will die. It seems like we are a package deal," Abigail pondered.

Faith laughed. "That sounds horrible." She sobered up quickly. "I just hope that afterwards, everyone will truly be able to live normal lives."

Abigail nodded and was about to respond when Reid's laughter caught her attention. She smiled as she found him targeting Hannah. Then she froze.

"Abby?" Faith asked worried. "What's wrong? What do you see?"

They were close enough to the front of the house the others overheard. "You are having a vision?"

"Guys, I am going to go to town," Paul said coming out the door. "There was an accident, and suddenly our year's worth of supply of diapers has become an hours worth," he announced.

"Don't worry, Paul, we'll go," Pogue said heading towards Tyler's Hummer, the other Sons not far behind him.

"No," Abigail said. "I saw what happened to the diapers," she lied. "That was the vision. Patience! I need to go to town too. Do you want to go?" it was the only hint she could give that she needed to talk to her oldest sister.

"Sure. What do you need?"

"We can get it, don't worry Abigail," Pogue said kindly.

Abigail grinned. "You don't want to get this. Feminine products," she lied easily and saw him blanch. He slid out of the driver's seat and Abigail slipped in. "Back soon!"

Hannah hopped into the passenger seat. She was happy to see Patience get in the back behind the drivers seat and their eyes met in the rearview mirror. "Do you guys need anything?" Abigail asked to keep up pretences. Faith and Violet managed to get in the back seat with Patience before Abigail backed out.

"What the hell did you see?" Faith asked. "You majorly creeped me out."

"Do you think they noticed?"

"I don't think so. I told Paul to tell them you are always jumpy and weird after a vision. Since they have only seen you after your death day, I think they will believe him," Violet said.

"Yay," Abigail said sarcastically. "Anyways, I heard Reid's laughter, which was nice," she sighed. "But it sent chills down my back."

"Not a normal reaction I am hoping."

"No. I saw them in the car—this car—heading down the mountain to that little mom and pop store. I don't know why and I didn't know when until Paul announced we needed diapers."

"Was Paul there?" Violet asked worriedly.

"No. I think he is protected like we are until the fateful day. Anyways. I just saw that they die. I saw them being loaded into the ambulances. I don't know!" she said frustrated. "I can't tell them to be careful by not doing this or that. I just couldn't let them go to town."

"How do we know that this is purely an accident, and not something malicious Chase is plotting?" Patience asked quietly. "He has been to quiet lately, especially for him."

"I . . . I felt him," Hannah announced weakly.

"When?" Patience demanded.

"Yesterday, and today," she admitted sheepishly.

Abigail grinned. "I sensed him too." She sobered up quickly. "But I don't think it is him. It didn't feel like it. And he only attacked Caleb before. Why ruin the car or something? I don't get it," she said drumming her fingers on the steering wheel.

"He's slightly deranged," Violet snorted. "I don't think it has to make sense."

They cruised down the winding mountain road. "Something's wrong," Abigail said. She felt somber and couldn't shake off the sense of impending doom. She tried to think how this was suppose to change the future and save the guys, but couldn't help her eyes tearing up. The tension in the car was so thick it felt like you could choke on it.

Abigail thought she saw lightening out of the corner of her eye– odd since it was a clear day– and looked out the window. Her jaw dropped as, instead of her reflection in the driver's window, she saw an old barn caught on fire, burning supernaturally fast; a knot formed in the center of her stomach and she couldn't catch her breath as the vision consumed her. "Abby look out!" Hannah shouted, jarring her to her senses.

She turned to look quickly at the road and saw a deer had darted into the middle of her lane. Hannah struck her hand out and made the deer move to side of the road, back into the forest the same time Abigail slammed her foot on the break. She tried it again, but realized the breaks weren't working. "Shit!" she yelled. She hadn't realized how much speed she had gained and she spun into the other lane right as another car was heading at them. For one second all Abigail could see where the lights of the car and hear the screams of all of them.

"Shit!" Hannah yelled as she threw her hands out instinctively (since she was on the passenger side and the first to be hit) and tried to erect some sort of barrier. The bubble stopped a lot of damage from occurring, but the impact still sent them flipping off the road.

The car continued to flip and roll until it landed in the river. "I don't want to drown yet!" Hannah yelled.

"Bloody hell," Violet said. Abigail had already thrown her hands forward and did the first thing that came to mind: stop the water. She erected a barrier to surround the vehicle and keep the water from coming in and the other four quickly joined in and they were soon cocooned inside their car surrounded by a bubble of air, keeping the water out.

"Is everyone okay?" Patience asked quickly and started checking them for injuries.

"Just dizzy," Abigail said and realized she had a gash on her forehead.

"Don't go to sleep," Patience ordered.

"It was the brakes," Abigail babbled. "I'm sorry!"

"For what?" Violet asked. She had switched places with Patience and was placing pressure on Abigail's cut with a Kleenex.

"I had a vision. It's not supposed to happen like that! Otherwise I would never drive."

"Hon, it's alright," Violet said grabbing her hand. "What was it?"

"Nothing important," she lied. "It was just the fact it came on like that," she said, as she wiped the blood away from her eyes. She didn't want to alarm them with what she thought she saw.

Patience sat calmly in the center of the car, like a queen holding session. "It isn't our time yet, let's stay calm," she reminded them. "So no one feels or senses it is Chase?"

"No. We need to _help_ him," Hannah implored.

Violet nodded in agreement. "Maybe like what we did for Reid. It seems to have worked. He isn't anywhere near addicted as he used to be."

"Okay, we help him, but can we help ourselves now!?" Faith muttered and bit her lip as she jostled her heavily bruised arm. "I can't get the door open." Everyone else yelled 'What?' "The water isn't getting in, but I can't get out," Faith yelled.

The car was sinking but also moving slowly down river. They all turned to Patience for guidance. "We have to collapse the barrier and then get out. We can materialize ourselves and the car after that." They all took a deep breath to calm themselves and then dissolved the barrier.

Water crashed through immediately and they all took a deep breath and swam through the broken windows. Abigail tried to hold her breath as she struggled to reach the surfaced.

Suddenly, she felt those familiar tendrils of power wrap around her for the shortest of seconds and she felt Chase as she was materialized onto the narrow shore. She took deep breaths and wanted to rest her head.

"Don't close your eyes honey," Violet said a she cradled Abigail's head in her lap. She brushed her fingers through Abigail's hair. "Did you sense him too?" Violet asked.

Abigail felt groggy and the impending zing of a vision. She was suddenly back under the water with Caleb, the pond incident from a few months ago. No sooner had the epiphany struck her— the importance of the incident—when it was all gone again. She was then thrown into another vision of the present. "The others are on their way. But we are running out of time," she warned. "We have to do something and quick."

"Spring break is soon, right? Will then be okay?" Patience asked. Abigail nodded.

"Abby!" Reid's voice broke in. He was suddenly there. "I'm fine," she promised. "Just a little wet."

"Shit, for someone who is prophesized of being burned to death, you sure seem intent on drowning."

"Why not change it up a little?" she joked. Then her eyes boggled as she saw the Hummer on the shore also a little further down from then. She couldn't help herself; she burst into laughter. "Thank you Chase," she whispered hoping he heard her.

He knelt in front of where she was kneeling. They were face to face, mere inches apart and she couldn't see him. Part of him desperately wanted to make himself known—not that they _didn't_ know he was there, he knew at least Vi and Abby felt him, and Hannah knew he was there all day—but he couldn't make himself just pop out of thin air.

_Don't give up on me, Hannah,_ Chase thought before materializing out.

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"Do you get the feeling we are being watched?" Violet asked, peering around the corner a few days later.

"More like babysat," Hannah huffed. "Honestly. It was _my_ almost-sort-of-once-upon-a-time-boyfriend,-now-the-father-of-my children who saved us," she huffed. "Besides, we are okay. And we will be okay until we die."

Violet and Abigail shared a look and then burst into laughter. "That was the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard!" Violet laughed.

"It's true."

"Every word," Abigail laughed.

"They are still baby-sitting us," Patience said. "We need to get them out."

"Reid!" Abigail yelled and he came in. "We are putting out foot down. You are all leaving. Now."

"What are you talking about?"

"You. Them," she jerked her thumb in the direction of the parlor where the other Sons, Kate, and Paul, were watching television. "Kate and Sarah can stay, they live here. You don't. Out," she said. She was playfully shoving him towards the door.

"Fine, fine, fine."

"No harm, no permanent damage, but you guys keep hanging around here and Violet or Patience will permanently damage you," she promised. She pulled him aside when the others were grabbing their jackets. "We know you care, and we appreciate it," she kissed his cheek. "We might be busy over spring break," she said. "Patience is thinking of some family bonding time."

Gold flashed in his eyes but his power didn't surface. "You are lying."

"Not really. Okay, we are going to be doing some family bonding . . . but with Chase," she said.

His frown turned into a sigh. "We could help."

"You will be. We just want to bring him here first, explain things to him, and help him before we throw you all together." He didn't know she meant _that_ part literally. "We just need to do this. It will be the easiest way for everyone involved if we help Chase before we put him and Caleb in the same room together."

"I understand that," he said and sighed. He wrapped his arms around her waist, needing to keep her close. "Believe me, I do understand that. It's just . . . Tyler and I, we got along with Chase okay, and he didn't go after us. We can help you."

She kissed his cheek. "Don't worry. We have plans for all of you. We just have to do this part ourselves. You have the tough job. We are only detoxifying him and explaining the history to him."

"I'm afraid to ask what our job is if you describe the detoxifying part as easy."

She laughed. "You have to keep Chase and Caleb from killing each other."

"Want to switch?" She laughed, and gave him a nice long, gentle kiss goodbye. "Friday, as soon as lectures are over, is when we are going to start. Don't come by or call, we won't be able to talk for awhile." He didn't ask for clarification, didn't have time, as he suddenly found himself on the porch with the other Sons.

"We only have a week to prepare," Violet said. "Can we do it?"

"We have to," Patience said. "When else? Things are escalating in ways that have never happened before. I mean, Abigail almost _died_," she choked. "That has never happened before."

"Explained this epiphany you had again," Hannah turned to Abigail.

"It was the pond scene again. I understand what we have to do," She said. She grabbed the book of Prophecies and turned to a page. "Okay, here are the important ones," she said, omitting the one about her and Faith. "_Only when two complete covens shall rejoin their houses shall old scores be settled, old wounds healed, time passed on, goodbyes finally settled, and old scores wiped clean."_

"So we need two covens," Violet said.

"Yup. What about this one._ Birth and death, the judgment of all, shall happen on the same earth._"

They pondered for a moment. "I think it means the same location. The ones to break the curse will have to do it in the same location of where the curse was born," Violet said.

"So wherever the Daughters were when they cursed their brothers?" Faith asked. "Do we even know the exact location? I don't think, in my case anyways, the sacrificial cross they burned Hope Garwin and Charlotte Danvers is still standing," she said sarcastically.

"So you don't get the pomp and circumstance," Violet snap. "I meant the same location. Who knows what's standing there now. You might die in the middle of Barnes and Noble."

"What a way to go," Faith deadpanned.

"Girls," Patience said in her mother voice.

"Okay, so the same area," Abigail said to get them on track. "Peachy. Here's my question. How?" They gave her blank stares. "I mean, okay, we detox Chase, and then what? We have a group hug, a reunion, and what?"

There was a pregnant silence as everyone mulled it over. "Have you seen anything?" Hannah asked. Abigail shook her head.

"Maybe we need to jump start it. Can we . . . I don't know, what do you think we need to do?" Faith asked.

"Honestly?" Abigail asked. The other's waited. "We need to die."

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_Special thanks to: **Grlwithoutaname **(I hope the chart at the top helps! Thanks!) **Mischieflover** (Ah, thanks! I totally see Reid as honoring any ditch day : ) I wanted a nice calm day because things are going to start picking up now!) **TaylorAlexandra** (Thanks!! : ) **Moan6stars** (I wish I had a day like that too! I am living vicariously, lol) **EvilAngel** (Ah, Faith and Tyler seem to be pretty popular!) **heartbreakerginny** (Thank you!) **a.sam** (We are fast approaching the end! There are still several chapters but each deals with breaking the curse now : ) **anangelwithnoname** (THanks!!) **Susangel** (Sadly, no more of the parents/child day, we are moving on to the finale : ) I am so glad those 4 words resonated though! I wanted to capture the torture Faith and Abigail are in since no one, not even the other sisters, know!)_


	32. Trust

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this work. Plot and OCs belong to me.

_Family tree (Eldest Daughter to Youngest Daughter):  
__Patience -- Hope -- Tyler  
Violet (Paul) --Peony--Pogue  
Hannah (Chase)-Isabel and Chase--Chase  
Faith (Tyler) --no kids--Reid  
Abigail (Reid) --no kids--Caleb_

_Recap: "What do we need to do?"  
"Honestly?" Abigail asked. "We need to die."_

* * *

**Chapter 30: Trust**

"What!" Three sisters shouted, while Faith sarcastically added, "Oh, is that all?"

"I don't mean literally. Okay, I phrased that wrong," Abigail said. She turned to Violet. "Would you drown, today, if it would break the curse and save Peony?"

"Yes," Violet said without hesitation.

"And you for Hope?"

"Of course," Patience nodded.

"That is what I mean." A look of comprehension dawned on their faces.

"How do we do this, then?" They went to the library and began to draw up plans.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Friday dawned cold and damp. "Great, just how I want my potential last real day to be," Abigail muttered. She went to campus with Sarah like she did every Friday, met with Caleb for lunch like she always did, spent two lectures holding hands with Reid like always, trying to suppress the knowledge of what the day would start.

"Is it still going to happen today?" Reid asked as they walked out after class.

"It starts today, yes,"

"Starts?"

"His addiction is worse than yours was, by far," Abigail pointed out. "My estimates show that it will take a lot longer to detoxify him than you."

"You'll be careful, right?"

"I honestly don't think that will be a problem. He has never shown any sign of aggression against us girls, so as long as Caleb stays away will be fine," she grinned.

"That I can do . . . for awhile," he said. "Once he finds out Chase is there, though, I don't know."

"Ah, you can do it." She stood on her toes as she cupped his face and kissed him hungrily. He had a saucy grin when she pulled away. "Promise not to remember me with my red nose in winter."

He frowned. "What's wrong with your nose?" he teased as he tapped it with his finger. She rolled her eyes. "Faith is just worried, don't tell Tyler," she fibbed. _Technically_ it was true, but she didn't add _she_ was worried as well. "Just saying, not my most flattering. I will see you . . . soon," she finished, not sure how long it would actually be.

"It better be soon," he said as she got on the train to go home. She arrived and found Faith was waiting for her. "Did you say your semi-goodbyes?" Abigail asked. Faith nodded. She tossed in her luggage and the bags of whatever they felt they would need at the Manor.

The drive to Ipswich was short and silent. Each girl thinking about the potential future, or lack there of. "Do you want to tell them?" Faith asked finally as they approached the manor.

"Nope. You?"

"No way."

"Good. Faith," Abigail said not meeting her eye. "Either way, I am sorry."

"Me too," Faith nodded. They just sat in the car after they pulled into the drive, looking at the Manor house. So many memories at both houses they couldn't imagine that one of them might not live to make more. "Remember that time Violet spent hours making that snowman? It was huge! She was so proud because she didn't use any Power," Faith smiled.

"She almost Used it on Chase when he rugby tackled it," Abigail snorted. The snort made Faith break into laughter. They grabbed their stuff and headed inside.

"Well, might as well get things started," Hannah said eagerly.

"Nope, first I am changing into pajamas," Abigail said. "Remember how drained we were after Reid? We are going to be like that again, for much longer," she predicted and went to put on some cute comfy pajamas. She and Faith walked down the same time as Hannah and waited in the parlor for the others to arrive.

Violet and Paul were whispering to each other in the other room. "As hard as it is for us, I feel for Vi too," Faith whispered and Abigail nodded. Violet joined them after a few minutes.

"Thanks, Paul, for looking after Hope," Patience said.

Paul nodded. "Of course. We will all be fine," he said assumingly to Violet.

The five girls assembled in the den in the Ipswich manor house. "I wish we could wait just another 10 days," Patience said sadly. "I want to see Hope's inheritance."

"If this goes as planned you could see your granddaughter's inheritance," Faith said. "That's why we are doing this!"

"I know! You just don't understand what it's like knowing you will leave your daughter behind," Patience said darkly.

Abigail and Faith glared at her. "If we live through this and it doesn't work, neither of us will live to see our daughter's inheritance," Abigail said venomously.

"Please," Violet said. "Let's just start this and pray it all works as we hope." They formed a circle with their arms forming a V by their sides, palms forward as they channeled The Power from within. They each could feel the power filling them, circling around them as if teasing them before embracing them. As one they opened their eyes (which where completely white, as always) and it was as if the Power began whispering achant to summon.

It took nearly three exhausting and tense minutes but they could feel the pull of the Power working as it strained at pulling in an unsuspecting person. They could feel him resisting at first, fighting his summons, but as he realized who it was he stopped resisting and welcomed the pull of the power.

Chase materialized in the center of their circle in wisps of smoke and fog. Luckily, he was facing Hannah as he arrived. "Anna?" he asked confused, resorting to her childhood nickname.

"Do you trust us?" Hannah asked. There was a pause for half a second before Chase gave a single nod of his head. The Power whipped and whirled around him and instantly knocked him unconscious. "Careful, he can still use in this state," Hannah reminded. She had gone to sit next to the unconscious form of Chase and stroked back his hair. "I wish we had done this sooner," she admitted. She had never admitted how much seeing him power-mad had hurt her but they all knew. Just as they knew she would take the first shift in monitoring him. "He will be fine, Hannah," Abigail vowed. She took a seat on the other side of Chase as they both used the Power to keep him unconscious. They had come up with the plan that they would constantly keep him sedated as they worked, taking turns who would be Using to do so.

Faith joined them feeling they would need more Power. "This is worse than Reid," she said sadly as she joined them.

"We will be successful, though," Abigail reminded them.

The rotation began. Abigail, Faith, and Hannah took the first shift. Faith was the first to drop out and was replaced by Patience. Hannah had pushed herself to her limits but was reluctant to leave him until Violet practically knocked her out. "Sometimes," Patience said as she sat across from Abigail with Chase between them, "the limits of your power frighten even me."

"What?" Abigail asked boggled.

"Here we are and you are still going strong."

"Not for much longer," Abigail yawned.

"But you last nearly twice as long as anyone else," Violet said.

"It isn't always a good thing!" Abigail said. Her exhaustion was making her crabby.

"We know, honey," Patience said, reaching across to smooth Abby's hair. "We are just saying you are special. And we know how hard that can be."

Abigail nodded. Somehow, because of all this worry over Faith or her not living past this, this last bit of mothering touched her heart deeply. Using that as an excuse she woke up Faith, who had been sleeping on the floor where she passed out two hours ago, and went to sleep herself.

The rotation continued and after roughly 18 hours they could reduce themselves to only needing 2 people to overlook him. The others would sleep, eat, or check in on their babies who Paul brought in to see them. They didn't leave the parlor, though, for fear that something would happen and their Power would be needed. The exhaustion kept them from going far or doing anything to exerting, too.

It was 36 hours into that they could take individual shifts. They each took a one hour shift (in rotation) watching over Chase, keeping him unconscious as they fed him images and memories to educate him on both his past and the history of The Power. For the four hours between shifts, each girl would eat and sleep to replenish the massive amount of energy it was taking to maintain Chase in this state.

"I hope this works," Violet said as she fell on her makeshift pallet and Faith took over her rotation.

"It will."

"I got through the original Sons and Daughters," Violet said before falling asleep. Faith looked at the outline they had created which covered all the important parts of the history they wanted to make sure Chase saw.

Grant it, since he was seeing it as dreams, they weren't sure how much he would remember or accept. That meant they had to go slow.

Faith and Abigail found a moment to themselves as Abigail was watching over Chase and before Faith fell asleep. "Are you sure this will work?" Faith asked. "I mean about only one of us, _you know,_" she whispered.

Abigail nodded. "Yes."

"But, well, something you said struck me. We are like a package deal. I mean, why not have one person die on an off day, or break the curse? Why all of us or none of us?"

"We have always been a unit . . ." Abigail trailed off.

"We are sisters in everything but blood," Faith yawned.

"Blood?" Abigail repeated, something floating to the surface.

"_Blood," Elizabeth Danvers scoffed. "We don't need them, we have each other." They passed an athame around, each daughter of the first Daughter slicing across their lifeline letting blood dribble into the chalice. Abigail recognized the athame as the same one they used themselves all those years ago. "What we bind may it never be broken. Blood forged anew be granted the strength that was forsaken our mothers. From this point on, we are one," Elizabeth, daughter of Charlotte, the first daughter of the first Daughter, said over the blood._

She cursed. "We need a history lesson as bad as Chase."

"Huh?" Faith said groggily.

"You showed him the first Daughters from the Daughters," Abigail said. "That first generation after the curse. Remember what _they _started?" Faith shrugged. "The blood oath."

Faith sat straight up, her tiredness forgotten. "Shit! What was it they said?"

"Betrayal by blood, blood can not be trusted, must create new blood," Abigail rambled. "They started the blood oath because they couldn't trust the ones they were related to, so decided to create new relatives."

"It is worse than that," Faith sighed. Abigail nodded. "We renew it every generation. That makes it worse, doesn't it?"

"It makes it a thirteenth generation blood bond."

Faith flopped down on her pallet. "And how, just _how_ do you break a blood bond?"

"I don't know."

"Have fun thinking it over," Faith muttered, her eyes struggling to remain open.

"Me?" Abigail squeaked. "No, no, no, and hell no."

"Yup, yes sir," Faith whispered sleepily. "You Danvers. Have premonition."

"Hell no, Faith," Abigail whispered but was met by Faith's soft snoring. "Hell no!" she muttered. "Well, Chase, since you are the only company I currently have," she frowned. "What do you suggest?" she waited for a response. "Yup, I think throwing away every right shoe in Faith's shoe collection would severely annoy her. Glad you thought of it. Maybe we should rip out the last 20 pages of all her romance novels, too, just for good measure. Always knew I could count on you," she laughed. "What's that? Hide the chocolate?" she bit her tongue to keep from laughing again and waking everyone up.

She jotted a note to Faith and tucked it into her hand before she was replaced by Patience.

Faith may have dumped the problem on her lap but she would definitely have a part to play in it.

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_Special thanks to **mischieflover** (no problem! Thanks!) **heartbreakerginny** (I found it amusing, too : ) And a great way of ending the chapter, lol), **TaylorAlexandra** (THank you! We are starting the trial by fire, so to speak. There are quite a few chapters of it, I am so excited!) **evilangel** (Well, he's back even if he isn't active ... yet! So close!) **Susangel** (Ah, thank you! Yes, I can see Pogue blanching on that part : ) And I love Chase, I think he shows the dark side of the power really well, lol) **Grlwithoutaname** (No problem! THank you!) **A.Sam** (We are in the process of finishing it, there are several chapters that deal with it. I hope you like them!) **anangelwithnoname** (Thanks! I love the unexpected : ) **PassionateReader** (Thanks! I update about every 7-10 days. I have the story written, I send my beta a chapter every 5 days or so, then whenever she has time to send it back.)_


	33. Camping

Disclaimer:

_Sorry for the delay. My computer crashed the middle of last week : ( thankfully, I had backed this story up! _

* * *

**Chapter 31: Camping**

"Paul, I don't care. It's been over 5 days since they started," Reid said coming into the Manor followed by everyone. Patience met them in the manor's main entry.

"Hungry?" she asked. "Before you go barging in, just remember that we will explain everything to you guys."

"Are you alright?" Tyler asked concerned seeing the dark circles under her eyes.

She grinned at his concern. "We will all be fine. I just got up because it would normally be my shift but we stopped 2 rotations ago," she said, not making any sense to anyone but Paul.

"Okay . . ." Pogue trailed off.

Patience went to help Paul with something, so the others walked towards the back parlor. They arrived at the entrance way the same time they heard the scream.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Chase stirred awake, feeling more rested than he had in ages. He blinked to bring his vision in focus and tried to remember what it was he last saw.

It took a moment to process everything they had shown him; en endless cycle of a lot of women living, having daughters, and dying. He saw his own mother being welcomed into this odd little family, then Patience and Violet's mother deciding if Chase was a Son, he had to go.

To have lived in a house where every freaking person knew what and who he was, who could have cleared up the confusion, seriously pissed him off.

He realized he wasn't alone. In fact, he was surrounded on all sides, he thought. He sat up gently and saw that they were all in a row. Abigail, on one side of him, stirred when he sat up and pulled the pillow over her head muttering about the light needing to die. He smirked; it was like when they were little and camped out in the back yard. Abby had hated it, complaining that the sun didn't sleep as long as she did. On her other side was Faith, her opposite in appearance and temperament but equally asleep.

He turned over to see Hannah on his other side, Violet further down.

It really was like when they were kids out camping.

Hannah seemed to realize something was wrong as she rolled over. He leaned over her, confused, happy, angry, and exhilarated all in one. Showing them everything had explained a lot, but it left a ton of questions.

Like, how could she possibly _die_? And, how had she had a _son_ when everyone only had daughters?

Hannah's eyes fluttered opened as if sensing someone was above her. He saw the moment she recognized it was Chase—alive—and screamed.

Abigail and Faith woke on the scream, each jumping to their feet, standing back to back, with their hands fisted and Power flaring from their fists and their eyes.

"Impressive," Violet laughed from the other side of Hannah. She had brushed her chestnut hair out of her eyes as she laughed at them.

Figuring out there was no threat they both slipped back to the floor. "What the hell Hannah!" Faith yelled. "I was dreaming of Clark Gable and Gerard Butler. You owe me big time."

"Ah, I had James Marsden, Rupert Penry-Jones, and Eric Bana," Abigail teased as the Sons came running in.

"I so don't need to hear that," Tyler muttered. Everyone jumped to see them there.

"What is going on?" Caleb asked, eyeing Chase dangerously. Chase, meanwhile, jumped up when he noticed them, eyeing the Sons dangerously.

"Down boys!" Patience ordered as she swept into the room thinking it was ironic that both sides--Chase and Caleb--would destroy the house while claiming to be defending the women. She sighed. "We will explain everything, but after we rest. We are drained. So. . ." she grinned wickedly, "while we are resting you boys will just have to get along."

Everyone—Son, Daughter, and significant other alike—ogled at Patience. "Here are the house rules: No Using by anyone," she said looking at each Son in turn, "no felonies, and try not to burn the house down while we are dead to the world," she ordered. She motioned for the Daughters to follow her which they did.

"Well," Chase finally said, breaking the awkward silence and talking to the Sons for the first time. "That was interesting," he grinned conspiratorially.

_vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv_

"Where are you going?" Caleb demanded.

"None of your business," Chase said as he walked out on Caleb. Instead of heading out, as the Sons had expected and prepared to stop him however they could—within Patience's parameters, if possible—Chase turned and walked up the grand staircase to the second floor.

Knowing where to go, he found his way quickly to the nursery. There he found Isabel and Chase sleeping soundly with the teddy bears Hope had picked out, and in the crib were the rattlers he picked out that they liked to gnaw on so much. After having watched them when he was nothing more than essence, it was weird to be standing there in person, physically, and able to touch them. He reached out and stroked Isabel's hair.

"Should we do something?" Kate asked worriedly from downstairs. It all seemed surreal that they were now stuck in a house with Chase. The same psychotic Chase who had sicked spiders on her and nearly killed her boyfriend and two good friends. Yet here he was, upstairs in the nursery.

_Weird. Way beyond weird_, she thought.

"I'll risk sounding blonde and ask this: does he know they are his?" Sarah asked. Everyone shrugged. They didn't know what he knew. "We need to figure out what he knows," Caleb said.

Reid poked his head in Abigail's room and saw her sleeping, dead to the world, for the unforeseeable future. Well, unforeseeable to him or anyone else awake in the house. "Do you have any idea when they will wake up?" Tyler asked Caleb who shook his head. Caleb had begun having visions himself—no where near as many as Abigail or as intense— but he still wasn't used to them.

"I think it is safe to say they will be asleep at least until tomorrow morning," Chase said walking in. Hell, he would _not_ let these Sons bully or belittle him. He knew Patience well enough to know that whatever he would attempt to do to them (successful or not) would be paid back ten times worse. That alone, plus him wanting to prove himself to Hannah, would keep him in line.

Didn't mean he wouldn't have a little fun.

"Uh . . ." Kate said looking around. "Hi, Chase," she finally said when everyone was just glaring at each other, coal eyes flaring from all those with testosterone. She and Sarah shared a look. _I wish at least Paul was here,_ Kate thought. "So, uh, what do you know or remember?" Might as well get to the crux of the matter.

"Enough," Chase admitted. "Some points are a little foggier than others. I just have to say I am confused on why," he turned to Reid with a smirk on his face, "Abs would agree to date you. You aren't her normal type."

"Hey!" Reid glared as his eyes, if possible, got even darker.

"Whatever. I haven't eaten solid food in nearly 5 days," he said heading off to the kitchen. He seemed to know his way around the kitchen as good as the Coven women, a fact that pissed off the Sons. He even knew where Paul, Hannah, and the others hid the junk food from Patience. They found him making a sandwich in the kitchen.

"You know," Sarah said taking a seat at the table. She tried not to let any of her uncertainty or fears reflect in her voice. "I wish Hannah was here to watch this. She has been going crazy these last few months."

"Damn it," Reid said. "We just have to know. Do you know who the father of her children are?"

Chase gave him a puzzled look. "It doesn't matter."

"Why the hell doesn't it matter?" Caleb demanded.

"So long as they aren't yours," he sneered, "I don't care. They are Hannah's, that's all that matters to me."

"Ah, Chase, I knew I always liked you," Kate practically purred. "See, I knew he would have this protective, 'mine' mentality, didn't I?" she asked Sarah who nodded and laughed a little bit.

"Does Patience honestly expect us to just sit around here for the next day with him?" Pogue asked.

"Yes," Chase and Caleb said at the same time, glaring at each other.

"At least the house is big enough," Tyler sighed thinking they could always lock someone up if they absolutely had to. Glancing between Chase and Caleb, it didn't seem like such a farfetched idea.

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_Extra long to make up for the long time between updates! And Chase is back!! Yay! I hope others like him in this chapter._

_Special thinaks to **QuietOne** (Ah, thanks! I love new reviewers!), **Mischieflover** (I hope you like CHase in this!) **Rukie** (Thank you!!) **A.Sam** (Thank you! It's nice to know people still enjoy it! The actual breaking of the curse will last a couple chapters, there is still plenty to go), **Susangel** (I love twists! I do them in all of my stories. And you are soooo close with your guess! I _can_ tell you that they do _not_ make a blood oath with their relative, though) **TaylorAlexandra** (Thank you! I hope you like this one, too) **MoonWolfRunner** (love the name! Thank you! It's hard with so many characters to do them all justice, but I try) **heartbreakerginny** (My sister has a shoe fetish, so I did that in honor of her : ) **Youaremybrandofheroin** (what specifically is it that confuses you? Feel free to PM me!)_


	34. It Begins

Disclaimer: Not mine; only oc's and plot belong to me.

_HUGE, HUGE THANK YOU!! Last chapter was the most reviews for any chapter in Redemption. You guys rock!! NOt only does this story have the most hits for any single story I have, but it is nearly the most reviewed, too (it will definitely beat out my other story, so keep up the reviews!)_

**Family Tree:**

Patience(No one)Simms -- Hope--Tyler Simms  
Violet (Paul) Parry --Peony--Pogue Parry  
Hannah (Chase-sort of) Putnam--Isabel and Chase-- Chase Putnam  
Faith (Tyler) Garwin -- no kids-- Reid Garwin  
Abigail Danvers (Reid) --no kids-- Caleb Danvers

* * *

**Chapter 32: It Begins ...  
**

"How did this happen?" Tyler asked. It seemed surreal that in the last 8 hours no one was maimed, the house was still standing, and they hadn't had to Use or lock up anyone.

Kate was thinking along the same lines. The last 8 hours seemed to have been an eternity; the Sons bickered, taunted, argued, jibed, and every other malicious act she couldn't think of to name. Yet they hadn't Used and they were all still alive. And she noticed how somehow—she was pretty sure it was unconscious act—Reid and Tyler would side with Chase on issues.

And Chase had no problem changing the twins' diapers or feeding them.

She totally believed in miracles now.

"Tyler, can you get the paper?" Kate asked, remembering it was still on the porch from earlier that morning. She saw the mischievous grin on Chase's face and worried about what it could mean.

Tyler, who was closest to the door, reached the door but when he reached for the handle, he was sent flying back 20 feet and landed halfway up the grand staircase. Chase started laughing making the other Sons glare. "Did you do that?" Pogue demanded his eyes flaring.

"Hell no! Have you seen me Use at all?" Chase demanded, all laughter gone.

"Boys!" Sarah yelled, again. "Chase hasn't Used at all, okay?" she said turning on Pogue. It seemed surreal she was defending Chase. "But you knew something was up!" she turned and yelled at him. She was frazzled and desiring a nap or just five minutes to herself.

"Patience has us on time-out," Chase drawled. "Don't you think she would have realized that there are 5 Sons with Power here? Give the woman some credit. I should know, I lived with her for 11 years."

"So she locked us in?" Tyler asked, coming down the stairs.

"I think I can break it."

Chase put a hand on Pogue's shoulder. "Even if Patience didn't specifically say to not Use, I wouldn't try," he cautioned. "I don't care what happens to you if you do," he explained, "but Patience will be pissed if you do. You haven't seen her upset," he clarified.

Isabel stirred in the playpen she and baby Chase were napping in. Chase went over to check on her. "He isn't being bad," Kate said cautiously. "I mean, does anyone have a bad vibe?" she had to believe that the sisters had cured him of the power-mad urges and that he was just naturally arrogant.

The Sons shook their head; they didn't have the bad he's-trying-to-kill-us vibe either. Peony started to cry, and to everyone's shock, Pogue scooped her up from her crib and grabbed a bottle for her, seeming to keep a wide berth with Chase. "I don't think he wants him near his niece, aw," Kate grinned, hearts practically shining in her eyes over her boyfriend.

"Okay, well, now we know we are really stuck here," Caleb pointed out. "Lets make dinner, I'm starving," he decided. It would give them something to do to keep their minds busy.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Faith's eyes fluttered open and she stretched like a cat. With a sigh she rolled over to find Tyler had snuck up to her bed and she grinned. _Oh boy, if I live through this, he will kill me for not telling him,_ she thought sadly. They had finally worked passed the Reid Revelations Fiasco, and she knew by not telling him this it would ruin whatever they had built. "Forgive me," she whispered then kissed his temple to wake him up. She continued kissing down his cheek to his jaw, and although he didn't open his eyes she knew he had woken up. "Morning sunshine, the earth says hello!" she teased repeating the Johnny Depp line.

He laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her down to him. "I am so happy to finally see you awake."

"Ah, things go that badly?" she asked. Her tone was light but she was worried.

"We are all alive and in one piece," he assured her. "You could have warned me we were locked in, though."

"Are you okay?" she asked cupping his face.

"No permanent damage, but who knew Simms could pack such a punch?"

"You tried the door," Faith guessed. She languidly kissed his lips. "Let's not tell the others we are awake yet," she whispered. She wanted a few stolen moments with him before everything went to hell. She knew down the hall Abigail would agree with her.

She was worried that after this they wouldn't be together, regardless if she lived or died.

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"We should go down now," Abigail laughed. She indeed did have the same idea as Faith. "They have to know by now we are awake."

"Another hour wouldn't hurt anyone," Reid teased. She ran her hand through his hair and sighed. She would give anything for another hour, but didn't share that.

"No, we need to go down now. While I am all glad that we are all still alive and no one is hurt, things need to be explained I'm sure."

"Fine, I'll admit to being curious," he grinned. "Alright, you're right, any longer and Caleb will probably knock down your door demanding answers."

They walked down to the family parlor to find everyone else was also walking in. "Well, we are all awake then," Patience said. She had already spent her morning with Hope, taking her to the park and an early breakfast before tearily dropping her off with Christiana Simms. She wanted nothing more than to be able to pick her up that afternoon, but knew that if something should go wrong, she could trust Christiana with her most precious possession. And because she knew that, Violet, Paul, and Hannah trusted her with theirs.

_Please we can all pick them up this afternoon_ she prayed.

"You already took them?" Faith asked surprised. "I didn't get to say goodbye!" she said practically hysterical and hugged Abigail. Abigail whispered something in her ear no one else heard.

"What is going on?" Caleb finally asked.

"Okay, we think we know what we are doing," Violet said, mentally adding an _I hope so._ The sisters all seemed to line up in a semi circle together on one side of the room facing the Sons, Kate, and Sarah. "Chase," Violet said, hugging him. "I am so glad you are back. I am so sorry we didn't do this sooner," she added. He was like the annoying little brother that she loved for so long. And because she loved him as such, she had to tell him. "Chase and Isabel are yours," she whispered in his ear.

He hugged her tighter to say thanks for finally confirming it since Hannah had somehow managed to avoid him all morning.

Patience was the next to hug him. He was the little brother that she had lost only to find again. Like Hannah, Faith, and Abigail, he was another sibling-yet-child to her. Her maternal instincts had always made her want to care for him. "Good job on the door, Pats," he grinned, making her laugh.

"I have gotten better since the last time I had to give you a time out," she grinned. Faith and Abigail practically rugby tackled him as they threw themselves at him, hugging him and kissing his cheeks. "Ace!" They both yelled happily and babbled on and on. Sarah and Kate, who had seen the home videos, knew it looked like old times with them. "Abs, you surprised me with your boyfriend," Chase teased. "I thought you wanted some nice quiet boring guy?" he teased making her stick her tongue out at him.

"No, you always said _I _was boring," she reminded him.

"No, I said you were more boring than Fae," he reminded, making Faith laugh. "Whatever happens, Ace, don't forget us," Faith said. She was laughing but her eyes were somber with that statement.

They stepped back, all instinctively knowing that Hannah and Chase's reunion would be different, but for the sake of what they had to do next, it couldn't happen yet, no matter how much Hannah wanted it otherwise. "Okay, like Vi said, we think we know what we are doing," Patience said. The Sons looked to her for an explanation. Sometime they had grabbed hands to form a chain and link together with their Power surfacing. Their eyes were white and flaring gold, but otherwise they looked normal.

"There is a choice," Patience continued and Abigail took that as her cue. Her Power began to flare up, wrapping around her like nothing she had ever done before. She pulled everything she had ever had and used it to cocoon herself in the Power. It was soft and sweet but demanding. She didn't have time for the gentleness of it or the sweet rapture that always accompanied it, though. She concentrated on pulling every last drop of Power she had and directing the Power of her sisters in what they hoped would be the last stand of the Coven.

She hoped it didn't turn into the Alamo.

Reid jumped up seeing her struggling against it but Chase and Caleb held him back. He was too concerned to even realize the two oldest Sons were holding him back and working together; all he could see was Abigail seemingly suffocating from her Power. He didn't know any of them had that much control, let alone that much power to control. Even though his heart had stopped beating because of fear for her, a part of him was in awe of how beautiful, and how angelic it all made her look as the early morning sun shined in behind her.

"A choice," Patience repeated from the other end of the chain, her own Power flaring dangerously as it joined with Abigail's and the other's in the spell they were starting. A part of her, that motherly instinct that even now couldn't be put out, flared at the shame of using Chase as a catalyst but none of them could think of any other way. She looked straight into Chase's eyes pulling him from looking at Hannah. "Power," she said meaning all of theirs, "or Hannah."

_The easy way or the hard way,_ the Daughters all thought.

"WHAT?" every Son yelled shocked.

"Hannah or Power," Patience repeated patiently.

Chase looked at Hannah with a questioning look. Over the past 2 years he had changed so much, so many times, he had long forgotten who he was. It was always about obsession—Hannah, the Power, revenge. But he had always jealously guarded over the first obsession he had.

He wondered how Hannah could think he would not pick her. "Power?"

_The hard way,_ was the only thought the girls could have in the heartbeat before the spell took shape. The Sons watched open mouthed as tendrils of Power and Fog ensnared each of the girls and Paul.

Everything happened at once, but seemingly in slow motion so that every detail would be remembered by all of them for the rest of their lives. Abigail let out a blood curling scream of agony, doubling over and clutching her stomach and pulling out her hair. She seemed to drop to her knees in pain but disappeared before she could touch the floor.

Faith saw the pain Abigail was in and screamed in fury at the injustice of it, light flashing everywhere as every candle and the fireplace erupted with rolling flames of fire. The room was engulfed in flames before she also disappeared, taking the flames with her.

Hannah looked at Chase with such fear and longing that Chase couldn't breath. He tried to reach out to her but she sobbed as she disappeared into the fog, realizing he was saved in Abigail's premonition of the future because he chose his future as a Son over their future together.

Violet reached out to Paul who was standing behind her, trying to both grab him as he was reaching for her and push him away in one final attempt to save him. Their fingertips were just out of reach, a look of agony at not being able to touch one last time, as they were pulled into the fog and disappeared.

Patience looked so helpless, something she had never felt in all her years, at the thought of losing everything, and everyone she had ever loved. The last thing whispered from her lips as she faded away, as if in prayer it would solidify her in her memory, was Hope.

They were all gone.

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_I have to admit that this is one of my FAVORITE chapters! I am eager to hear what everyone else thinks!_

_Special thanks to **TaylorAlexandra, MischiefLover, MoonWolfRunner, gxaxbxbxy, SexyOne, Lexi Aduial Elen, a.sam, heartbreakerginny, susangel, Rukie**,and __**anangelwithnoname**. I am soooo glad that Chase being back has made everyone besides me happy!  
_


	35. Means to an End

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this writing.

_Wow! Most reviews for any chapter for this story! You guys rock!_

* * *

**Chapter 33: The Means to an End**

"What the hell did you do?!" Reid demanded grabbing Chase around the collar, whatever brotherhood might have developed over the last 20 hours gone.

"Nothing. How the hell was I suppose to know the first word out of my mouth would be taken as my answer," he yelled pushing Reid off. "I was going to say 'how could I pick power, Hannah,' but they freakin' _disappeared!_" he shouted, pointing to where they stood a moment ago.

"I noticed that!" Reid yelled. Caleb and Tyler pulled the two coal-black eyed Sons off each other.

"We have to figure this out," Caleb said. "Jumping into this without a plan won't help them."

"No shit Sherlock," Chase grumbled. Something surfaced momentarily in his mind and he tried to cling to it. "Does a blood oath mean anything to you?"

"No, why?" Reid asked dangerously. He wasn't above using the Power if it would save Abigail, even if they had to sacrifice Chase. Again.

"I heard Faith and Abigail, saw something one of them saw . . ."

"Abigail has visions," Caleb said. "What did you see?"

"It was one of the first daughters, the daughters of the Daughters that were betrayed, I think," he said. "It is all real foggy. I got the gist of what they were showing me, but it's all as if it was a dream. Nothing specific. They were in a cabin, all 5 of them, basically bitching about how they didn't need their families since it didn't basically do them any good the first time around."

"So they took a blood oath?" Tyler asked trying to follow along. "What does that have to do with this?"

"I don't know!" Chase said frustrated.

"They must have left clues," Sarah said stepping in. "They always seem to give you guys clues into understanding what you need to learn."

Caleb stalked off to the library, the same place they first learned about their history all those months ago. "Maybe something here will tell us," he hoped. He opened the five huge scrolls that detailed all of their family trees while Tyler went to the Giant Book of Failure that rested on its pedestal in the center of the room. "Uh, Caleb, you might want to see this."

"Huh?" he asked.

"Just get over here," Chase demanded. Caleb frowned and glared at him but walked over to where the other sons were congregating. "What?"

"It has your name on it," Tyler said handing him the paper folded into eighths with his name scrawled on top. "That's Abigail's handwriting," Reid said, itching to open it himself.

_Have you seen anything?  
__We have.  
__What do you see?__  
We saw us. And you. And them.  
Will you?_

"They are dying and they give us a riddle?" Reid asked incredulously.

"Why do I want to laugh?" Chase asked. "Seriously. This makes me want to laugh. Abigail had to have faith in you guys if that is all she left. There's a post script. _Go to the place it is drawn._ What is drawn?"

Caleb practically ran out of the room. "Does this mean he understands it?" Pogue asked as they followed.

They all marched into the small back bedroom where Abigail was always sealed off during her death days. The murals and everything from her last death day months ago were still there. "These were drawn," he said. "There has to be a clue here somewhere, one of these. I mean, she _saw_ this, right? She saw that we would be fighting the curse way back on that day," he reasoned as they began to pour over the drawings and paintings.

_Caleb, are you there?_ A voice whispered. His head snapped around. _Caaa-leb_ the name was drawn out and gave him the goosebumps. _You know what you have to do. You said it yourself. You said it, you had the realization, but didn't realize it for what it was_, Abigail's voice said and he wondered how the hell he heard her. When was she saying this?

_Abigail was laying down on the mattress that the room maintained for her death days, Reid walking out after carefully lying her down. There were no windows but he had the feeling it was late afternoon. He thought he faintly heard female voices mixed with Reid's voice. This must have been right before the others arrived on her Death Day. _

'_We are the right generation,' Abigail's voice whispered softly, almost caressingly. 'All the puzzle pieces are finally thrown together. We are all here, all 10 of us. We are the last hope of breaking it, Caleb. Last, there will never be another full generation of Sons and Daughters again if we fail, understand?'_

'_No, I don't understand,' _he thought_. 'What am I to know?'_

'_You already know. You experienced it, too,' she said, and he had the impression she was laughing even though the only body he saw was her sleeping form before him. The voice came from some other source, some other Abigail. 'Remember!' she commanded desperately._

_He was thrown back under the water, trying to gasp for breath. He couldn't see, didn't have any idea which way was up or down. When was this? Where was this? Was this him? His struggling was ending, he could feel himself dying, moving on. _

The pond_, _he realized._  
_

_The surge of Power, of life, filtered into him forcefully. He choked on it, didn't want it, it was too much, too different, yet too similar. He didn't understand. It wasn't his, but he needed it. He wanted it, he realized. He wanted to accept it. He didn't want to die. _

"Caleb, you back?" Pogue asked shaking him. The last thing Caleb heard was his own voice telling Reid: _I think that's the point of it, the choices they made, the choices we make._

"Don't shake him," Reid chastised. "You have never been around people having visions before, have you?"

"Damn it!" Caleb said waking up wanting to hit something. He resorted to hitting the wall. "She knows, she's known for awhile."

"Abby?"

Caleb nodded. "We each have to save our own line. At the place it happened," he said looking at the murals. "Ipswich colony. The old, original colony, places associated with their ancestors. A place associated with our ancestors and the choices they all made."

"At least they can't time travel . . . I hope," Pogue said.

"We don't have time to sit around the kitchen table discussing this over afternoon tea," Chase said.

Reid found himself agreeing with Chase which disturbed him. "I agree. We need to do something."

"We need a plan," Caleb said.

"We know it's in old Ipswich," Tyler said. "Why don't we look in the old Colonial parts?"

"What are we missing?" Chase asked and Caleb nodded in agreement. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, too. They materialized to the old Danvers estate which had been vacant since Caleb's father willed away his power and died. "I'm going to search the barn for Abby," Reid said.

"Wait," Caleb ordered. "You can't."

"What do you mean I can't?" Reid demanded. "If this was Sarah you wouldn't hear of anyone else rescuing her."

"This is a different situation. We are dealing with people who have The Power. You know how twisted that is," Caleb said, glancing at Chase who knew what he was thinking and agreed. "We have to be smart about this."

"And quick," Tyler said.

"We have to do this the right way or it won't matter what happens and they will die in a few years anyways. We each go after our ancient relatives," Chase decided.

"Can I point out something?" Kate asked. The guys glared at her. "Paul is also gone. What do we do about him?" they looked around at each other and realized they hadn't thought about him.

"We don't have a lot of time here Danvers," Chase interjected. "Let Sarah and Kate get Paul. Non Power people helping non Power people."

Caleb looked torn since he didn't want Sarah involved. Pogue looked ready to throttle Chase for the suggestion but Sarah and Kate seemed ready to follow his order. "Hey, just because we aren't supernaturally endowed doesn't mean we aren't involved," Kate argued angrily.

"And Violet and Paul traced our ancestry back to the maid who helped to raise the original daughters, we are meant to be here," Sarah argued.

"Just tell me who the Putnam is," Chase said to bring the focus back to the Daughters.

"Hannah," Pogue said glad when Chase dematerialized. The other four went off on their own way as well. "Well, that leaves us," Kate said.

"Let's find Paul," Sarah said. "He's going to need help, too, and we can look for him regardless of how Caleb and Pogue feel about it. Which fate is his?"

"Crushed to death," Kate said anxiously. "And they were cruel, too. After Violet traced our ancestry back to the old maidservant, I reread the old account in the Parry diaries and . . ." Sarah waited but was sure she didn't want to know. "They placed Rosemary Parry's dead body where he could see it as he died."

"Sick, evil, twisted bastards," Sarah said angrily. "I do like the thought we are off to help them like our ancestors did. I just hope we are more successful."

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I know several people said they were confused, hopefully it is slowly going to be pieced together. Imagine how the Sons are feeling right about now, too : )

_Special thanks to **Lexi Aduial Elen **(I am glad it was one of your favorites, too!) **MischiefLover** (hopefully it makes more sense!) **MoonWolfRunner** (We will start to see what happened to the girls next chapter, promise), **TaylorAlexandra** (Thank you! I hope you enjoy this one, too), **Rukie** (your review made me laugh! I think that is exactly the reaction the Sons had, too) **a.sam** (we will see the girls, soon, promise!) **Kail** (I hope it starts to become more clear as Caleb starts to figure it out, thank you!) **EvilAngel** (Hannah and Chase come from the same family line--the original brothers and sisters--but that was over 300 years ago so they are so distantly related I can't even figure it out. No creepiness) **Susangel** (I love everything you mentioned in the last chapter, too! And Chase seemingly chose power over Hannah, but it was enough for what the girls were doing) **anangelwithnoname** (We will start to see the girls next chapter--starting with Violet and Hannah) **Youaremybrand** (I hope it starts to become more clear; if not, I'll try to sum it all up after we see all the girls) **Aueren** (I am glad I inspired someone else to write their story! it is always nice to hear) **heartbreakerginny** (I imagine the Sons were confused at the end of the last chapter, too : )  
_


	36. Putnam, Parry, Simms I

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this writing (nor do I own Disney movies)...

Family Tree (Important now!):

Simms: Patience -- Tyler  
Parry: Violet-- Pogue  
Putnam: Hannah -- Chase  
Garwin: Faith -- Reid  
Danvers: Abigail -- Caleb

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**Chapter 34:Putnam, Parry, Simms part I**

HANNAH

Violet and Hannah materialized on the riverbank. "What the . . ." Hannah said, shaking the dizziness she was feeling. _He chose the Power_ she heard inside her head.

"Paul!" Violet yelled. She clutched her head too. "I think . . . I might . . . be sick," Violet said breathing hard.

_He's gone. He's gone to die, nothing you can do about it,_ a thought appeared in Violet's head. She didn't know why she didn't believe it was hers, it didn't sound like her, but the truth of it was the only thing that mattered. She stumbled to her feet, trying to find a way home, when she tripped and fell over the edge of the bank towards the river below. "Vi!" Hannah yelled, reaching out blindly because the dizziness was making it difficult to focus. She overshot, and leaned too far, falling over herself. She felt herself hit her head on the way down and everything began to waver. The cold river sucked her breath away as she emerged.

_Like so long ago. The memory remains even if it wasn't yours,_ the voice whispered again. This time Hannah knew it wasn't hers. _He chose the Power, they always do. And now your hope remains with him? Ha! My own brother wouldn't save me. He had the choice, but he chose to forsake his own sister. Isn't that what your lover was posed with? The question of love or power? Family or Power? _

_They __always__ choose power. _ The voice said matter-of-factly. Hannah wanted to sob at the truth of it. He was looking _right at her_ when he made his decision. Her heart had broken into thousands of pieces; even if she didn't die here—which she knew she would, so she didn't entertain any hopes of a rescue—it would not have been repaired. _You had two beautiful children with him, and now it is all over because of a choice he made. He gave you nothing but pain. My own brother was the same. More concerned with begetting an heir than giving me, his blood and flesh, any sympathy. Because of him, I lost a loved one too. My own precious baby and my own beloved husband. _

_That hole, where your heart use to be. You can fill it again. All it takes is one decision. One last use of Power, and then the ever after you've fought so long for will be yours. _

Chase broke her heart, took everything from her. She felt her life draining away and prayed for her children's future to be beautiful, and happy, and filled with love. She had enough power to use one last Curse, she decided.

_Yes, you do. One last Use of Power to make him remember you by,_ the voice said, _to make him pay._

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_x_

_x_

x

x

VIOLET

Violet heard the bone snap as she fell and rolled into the river. The shock of the cold stole her breath. "Anna!" She yelled calling out for Hannah. She could have sworn she saw Hannah hit her head on the way down and was terrified that she was knocked unconscious. She tried to stay above the surface to search for her, but her broken leg wouldn't allow it. She took her last deep breath as she was slowly pulled under. _He's gone and you are soon to follow. Both of you leaving long before your time and losing all those precious moments with your child,_ the voice whispered. How could this voice sound so seductive? Violet wondered. An image of Paul the moment before they disappeared flashed into her head only to be quickly replaced with one of him cradling Peony when they brought her home from the hospital. She had cherished every moment the three of them had together knowing they were numbered, but she never imagined it would all end so quickly.

_It was stolen from you! _The voice said persuasively_. All those untold thousands of memories the three of you could have made together, the last precious gift you could have left your daughter before you died, stolen. She will never remember you, your kiss, his laugh. All because of one choice someone __else__ made. And now you rest your hope in a boy? One you haven't known for even a year!_ The voice scoffed._ One who is so young and naïve about the ways of the world, who wouldn't know true power if it consumed him. You rest your fate in his hands? I rested it with my beloved brother, one I shared the womb with, and in the end he, like all the others, abandoned me. _

_He will turn his back on you too. Where is he, then? Why hasn't he come? Is your baby calling for you now?_ The voice asked and Violet sobbed, choking on the water. _Think of all the pain Peony will face never having one single memory of either of her parents. Use that, and make him suffer. You have the right; he is allowing all of you to die! He robbed you of your future, he should pay._

The voice taunted her, drilling the truth into her. She was risking everything on Pogue! He seemed like a nice guy, but did she truly know him? When it came down to it, did he really care?

_If he cared, he should be here by now. Your life is already leaving you. One last chance to invoke revenge,_ the voice said. _Not for you, for Peony._

One last chance, she thought looking up and seeing the sky on the other side of the water.

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_x_

x

x

x

_Elsewhere in Ipswhich:_

PATIENCE:

Patience slowly became aware of herself. Whatever had protected her up till now had dissolved, and she knew, somehow, that she was submerged. All she could remember was saying goodbye to Hope, trying to be brave, so if it was the last thing she saw of her mother she would know Patience went into this to save them both.

_Hope,_ she sobbed.

_What hope?_ A voice asked. _The hope of a young man? The one who is in love with your sister, one who would run to her rescue on a white horse while leaving you here?_

Patience gasped. Whoever said drowning was peaceful had obviously never done it. She felt as if she was being pressed in on all sides, suffocated, pain screaming at her to let go already. And on top of it all, she heard voices. Not the soothing voices of angels, but the voice of a pissed off, 300 some odd year old ancestor.

_Your last hope is running off to rescue your sister, thus condemning you both. You have never relied on a man before, haven't you learned my lesson? My older brother, whom I trusted with everything, deserted me and my daughter. The man I risked everything for who gave me the most precious gift in the world? Turned a blind eye to his daughter's fate and cast the first stone condemning me. _

_And what of you? When have you ever relied on a man before? And now you lay here waiting, condemning you and yours to a fate that should never have been. You should have had a decade more with your little one, yet it is taken from you in this chance you took for my brother's line. Where is your savior? Where is the father of your child? Have you no one?_

Patience could feel the life being seeped from her. She saw Violet and Hannah braiding Faith and Abigail's hair as they watched Pocahontas, Faith's favorite movie. It was such a normal night, one of the first of just the five of them. She had done a good job, right? She had always tried to do right by them, putting all of their needs before hers. She was gifted with the longest life—so she thought—so it only seemed fair to make their short ones the best it could be.

And she vowed Hope would have nothing but good memories of her. She wanted to leave Hope with the strength to carry on and to live, and what did she do? She left the young girl alone and confused. _You tried for the greater good but you were abandoned. Will they even look after your daughter? Do they even care?_

Damn it, Hope still needed someone! She thought weakly, realizing that she would black out at any moment and that would be the end. _The end, yes, but you can still leave one last gift to protect your daughter. One last show of strength to remind her of her mother. _

One last curse to show her daughter that she could stand on her own? Patience wondered. In that moment she realized that she wouldn't allow Hope to suffer.

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_Special thanks to **TaylorAlexandra **(thank you! I try to make it realistic ;) **susangel** (I feel the same way. I refused to write the last chapter for the longest time because I didn't want it to end!) **Lexi** (We will see Paul later--as soon as I figure out what to write for him : ) and Chase isn't evil, but Hannah doesn't know that at the moment) **Reid's Girl** (I figure Kate and Sarah were destined to be part of it from the beginning--way back in the movie) **mischieflover** (hopefully the pieces are starting to fall into place!) **a.sam** (This chapter is short, too, but I originally was going to post each daughter/son individually, but I figured that would be to cruel lol)_ **heartbreakerginny**_ (Thank you!!) **evilangel** (no creepyness! Promise! **anangelwithnoname** (thank you! I am pretty sure Abigail and Caleb's chapters will be fairly long) **Aueren** (Thank you! I like the idea of non-power people helping, too : )_


	37. Putnam, Parry, Simms II

Disclaimer:I do not own or profit from this writing

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: language in this chapter. Hopefully no one is offended.

Family Tree (Important now!):

Simms: Patience -- Tyler  
Parry: Violet-- Pogue  
Putnam: Hannah -- Chase  
Garwin: Faith -- Reid  
Danvers: Abigail -- Caleb

* * *

**Chapter 35: Putnam, Parry, Simms Part II**

CHASE

Pogue saw he had materialized next to Chase. "Hell, I get you?" Pogue asked but Chase glared at him. He scanned out over the river. "Damn it!" Chase yelled and dove in. He had never been more thankful he was on the swim team, and a national champion at that. He used swift, powerful strokes to get to where Hannah's body was bobbing up and down. He knew Pogue had dove in after him and was a few yards downstream. He wrapped an arm around Hannah's waist and started swimming them towards shore. "Almost there, Anna," Chase said, keeping up a conversation even though Hannah was unconscious. He told himself she was just unconscious, he couldn't even contemplate that she was dead. He _refused_ to believe it was a possibility.

The swim to shore seemed to stretch on forever. "Stay with me, Anna," he said as the current fought against him. "You have to get out of this," he said. "Damn it, why on earth would you do something like this?" he yelled. He figured to take out his rage now while she couldn't fight back. It was either rage or fear, and rage seemed to be more productive at the moment. "What the hell were all of you thinking?" he demanded, and wished she was awake to tell him. He needed someone to explain to him why they would do something like this.

He finally was able to get to shore and wanted nothing more than to just lie down for the next decade or so. The swim was supernaturally difficult, he realized. Not only because the current was abnormally difficult and seeming to try to kill them, but because of that voice that kept nagging him. _Why are you trying? She knew you were a Son and didn't tell you, none of them did. She could have explained to you what you were and saved you years of pain. They sent you away because of what you were,_ the voice reminded him. _Away to feel forgotten, lonely, unloved. All because they knew what you were. Even when she had your children she didn't tell you! You didn't know before today they were yours. Yet you sacrifice yourself trying to save this unworthy body. You missed a year of the lives of your children because she didn't feel you worthy enough to know you had begotten children._

So he told the voice to fuck off. It obviously didn't realize that so long as he and Hannah had the next 70 years or so together with their children he didn't care about the last year or so. The voice seemed to have gotten the message because it left him alone. "Hannah, baby, open your eyes," he ordered. He traced his fingers over the gash on her head and used a quick flare of Power to heal it and was shocked to see that it was hard work to get that little use of Power. "Baby, open your eyes alright?" he ordered. "It looks like I have to do this the old fashion way," he worried. God, he didn't know CPR. He added that on his list of Things-To-Do-With-The-Rest-of-My-Life. He sat through the videos and training sessions his swim team had to go through but never paid attention since he could just zap a little of the Power to do whatever.

He tilted her head and felt for a pulse. _Thank God_ he thought. It was weak, but it was there. "Don't even think you are getting out of this," he said loudly. He breathed, and then pushed on the chest, and breathed for her again, and practically shouted in surprised when she struggled for breath and started spitting up. He cradled her head and helped her as she tried to gasp for air.

"Chase," she gasped in surprised delight.

"Don't even tell me you thought I would let you die," he growled.

She laughed, but started gasping for air. "I was afraid you would have voices, too. Telling you to just forget about me."

"Oh, I had a voice, and we will talk about it later. Wait," he said confused. "You had a voice? Who was it?" he asked although he had a good idea who.

"Eleanor Putnam," she admitted.

"What did she want you to do?" Chase asked wearily, thinking he had a pretty good idea again.

"What else? Curse you," Hannah said. The unspoken question hung between them. A shout from Pogue downstream caught their attention.

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POGUE

He never wished for his Power as much as he had at that moment. The cold of the water was a shock to his system but he swam on. Violet was floating farther way from him each moment. Peony would never forgive him if he let her die.

He wouldn't forgive himself.

Violet had somehow become like a big sister to him in the last few months. He didn't tell the other guys about it, thinking they would rag him, but he was very fond of Violet, even Paul, and he hoped that Kate and Sarah would figure out where he was so he could help him after.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested Violet's head on his shoulder. He wanted to check for a pulse but didn't waste the time for fear that he was too late. _No thoughts like that,_ he told himself.

_No, instead question your motives. You could very well die here today, never see your own precious Kate again, or have a Son of your own_ a voice said sternly. _You risk not just your future, but so many futures that rely on you. And for what? A woman you barely know who, when this is over, will go back to her own life and ungratefully forget about yours?_

Pogue's eyes flashed in anger. _Okay, who the hell do you think you are talking about?_ Pogue demanded and wondered why he was arguing with a voice inside his head. He was struggling enough to get to shore. _Back the hell off,_ he warned the voice. _She understands what it's like being stuck in the middle. Being pulled between the fun loving, carefree antics of Tyler and Reid and the straight-laced Caleb. _

_So you have confided in her of yourself, but does she accept it? Do you truly know her? Is it enough to risk your future, Kate's future, and that of Daniel, your future son?_

The name of his future son almost froze him in shock, but he pushed past it. _What kind of father could I be if I let her die? _ He demanded the voice. _Violet's favorite flower is the carnation;, she isn't that fond of violets, ironically. She would love nothing more than to be able to watch Peony's wedding and have Paul walk her down the aisle. And she is allergic to legumes. So there,_ he thought snidely. He finally made it to shore, and almost gagged seeing the bone popping out of her leg. "I am so glad you are not here to see this," he whispered knowing the sight would surely make her gag or pass out. He tried to heal it but it required more Power than he had at the moment. "Guys!" he yelled hoping someone would be able to help. He placed his head over her heart and gave a shout of joy she had a heartbeat. "Okay Violet, you have to breathe now," he muttered as she started CPR, thankful for the first time he took that damn class his coach forced on all of them.

Violet started spitting up the water as Chase, carrying Hannah even though she claimed she was okay, arrived. Chase set Hannah down next to Violet and they hugged each other, crying. "It worked," Violet sobbed and reached for Pogue.

He kissed her cheek. "Don't look down, yet," he cautioned holding a hand over her eyes as he and Chase tried Using to heal her leg.

"Did either of you hear voices?" Hannah asked, and Pogue and Violet shot her startled looks. "That wasn't a hallucination?" Pogue asked. "I was hoping I was arguing with myself."

"No, there were voices; that's for sure," Chase said and then hugged Violet, relieved two of his girls were safe. "I would have killed Pogue if he didn't save you," he told Violet, who laughed.

"Can someone please help me find my husband now?" Violet asked. "I want my Paul," she said tearily. Hannah squeezed her hand.

"Wait, one last question," Chase asked. "Did your voice ask you to curse Pogue?" Violet nodded. "Well then, where to next?" he asked.

"Wait, curse me?" Pogue asked confused.

"Parry, haven't you figured it out yet?" Chase drawled. Pogue glared at him. "That voice you heard? It was Peter, the first Parry."

"Well damn," Pogue said.

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_elsewhere, in Ipswhich:_

TYLER

Why was he drawn to this spot? He wondered. He always liked the pond when he needed a place to think. He didn't question it, though, and dove right in. He had the distinct feeling that materializing to this spot was the last use of his Power.

_What if you are wrong? _The voice said. _If you waste your time saving her, you risk losing your sweet Faith. All on the decision of a Power hungry, psychotic young man you don't trust, and another Son who doesn't have any personal involvement with any of the Daughters. You need to look for your Faith, not waste time here in this forsaken pond._

What the hell? He hated this invasion of his personal space. Yes, he was worried about Faith—hell, he wouldn't love her if he didn't. But he was worried about Patience, too. _She is the last person you need to worry about. She has always taken care of herself and those around her. She doesn't need you_ the voice said. _Her line has always been independent. Too independent. A trait that has been passed on all these generations. If anyone can save themselves, it is Patience._

True, Tyler thought. He knew Patience always took care of everyone else, had raised the others, but that didn't mean she didn't need help once in awhile. How many times had he told Patience to relax and he would pick Hope up from kindergarten or pick up her order from the store to save her a trip because he knew she hated taking the train? _Yes, she could use an errand boy_ the voice chuckled.

That pissed Tyler off. _Maybe you didn't understand your sister as well as you thought you did,_ Tyler challenged. _Maybe her independence meant she needed help more than you thought,_ he challenged. _Patience is lonely and puts everyone else's happiness before her own. She needs a shoulder once in awhile, a helping hand, someone to tell her to relax and let go. _He ignored whatever rebuke the voice might have had and saw Patience eerily floating in the water. He grabbed her arms and kicked upwards pulling her closer to get a better grip.

When this is all said and done, I am so forcing Patience to go out on a date_,_ Tyler thought with a grin. If anyone deserved a night out on the town, an evening of fun and no worries, it was Patience.

They broke the surface and he swam them to the edge of the pond. He dragged them clear of the pond wanting as much distance between it and them as possible. "No arguing," he said as he administered CPR, "about the blind date." He helped her to roll over as she coughed up the water in her lungs. He held back her hair for her while supporting her body.

"You came," Patience said crying.

"Of course," Tyler said holding her close.

"That was so much harder than I ever thought," Patience admitted. "I didn't even guess there would be a voice. None of us thought of that, of _them_."

"You would think they would want us to break this damn curse."

"Go, I know you want to find her," Patience said.

"No, we have a minute. Let's just relax," he said. As frightened as he was, he knew he had to trust Reid to find and save Faith. He just held Patience close, wanting to comfort her. "Hope will be ecstatic. I told her I would take her to that Pizza place," Tyler admitted.

Patience laughed. "She is sneaky. I told her no."

"Is it alright?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah," Patience said. "I think she would like it. She loves going with you, you're her favorite Uncle."

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_Special thanks to **a.sam** (I'm glad it is good and intense! Exactly what i was aiming for!) **Aueren** (ah, thank you! Decisions are revealed soon...) **TaylorAlexandra** (3 sets down, 2 to go!), **mischieflover** (We see the others over the next few chapters... lol) **evilangel** (Thank you!!) **anangelwithnoname** (you'll have to wait and see!) **susangel** (don't go nuts! ANd the voices are there because they have to be challenged, it can't be easy...) **Rukie**(I am glad you trust me!)**lexi** (I can't wait to get to what I call the Abigail/Caleb Epic Saga I find it interesting you are worried about Reid's behavior!)_


	38. Garwins

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this writing...

Family Tree (Important now!):

Simms: Patience -- Tyler  
Parry: Violet-- Pogue  
Putnam: Hannah -- Chase  
Garwin: Faith -- Reid  
Danvers: Abigail -- Caleb

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**Chapter 36: Garwins  
**

_Is this my fate?_ Faith wondered sadly. She had no idea where she was, but she was lingering somewhere between awake and asleep. She had the vague memory of hitting her head when she appeared. She heard the cackle of flames and could smell the smoke.

_You don't even fight it? _a voice whispered. _You embrace being the last of our line? Never having the joy of holding your child in your arms? Seeing their first smile knowing it is all for you?_

What was this? Faith wondered. She couldn't even die in peace. _No, I am just curious. I would have fought, I DID fight until I breathed my last breath to protect me and mine. They tried to walk all over me. I vowed to take the town with me, and nearly succeeded. If it was just myself, that would have been different, but they threatened my child. You will not have that sorrow, but alas you will not have that joy either. _

Well then why the hell dwell on it? Faith demanded. She cracked open an eye and saw the flames flickering angrily all around her. She scanned trying to find a door, a window, anything, but the flames were too high. _It is almost pathetic you just giving up. I am slightly put off. _

Well, I am slightly put off as well, but this will save Abigail.

_Ah, saving a beloved sister. That I can approve._ Faith would have giggled that she won over the support of a voice in her head if she had the strength. Here she was dying—she couldn't kid herself on that point—and the only company she had was the voice of her ancestor. Jolly good, she thought sarcastically.

_I am here to lead you on to the after, _the voice said. _Did you honestly think, though, that this Reid would save you? I am curious over this. He would fight tooth and nail to protect Abigail, the same sister you sacrifice yourself for. _

_That is how I know it will be me,_ Faith admitted. _Is it alright I am frightened?_

_Your mother was,_ the voice admitted. _She awaits you. I can take you there. Is there anything you wish to do before you go?_

Do?

_You have one last bit of power. What if you leave and Reid doesn't save Abigail? What if he doesn't know, or doesn't fight 'tooth and nail' as you say? What if he fails and Abigail joins you in the after?_

He will not fail, Faith said determinedly.

_He would have failed you both then. You know Reid would not have figured this out on his own. He wouldn't know to go after you, therefore forsaking you in the process. But since he is not meant to save Abigail he is forsaking her as well. Your sacrifice would have been in vain_ the voice said softly. _You risk both lives on one man who will fail both of you._

No! Faith thought, choking on the smoke. Her eyes were watering from the smoke and she felt as if she was suffocating. _It is almost time. You have one last chance. Avenge, not you, but your sister who will also be lost because of the incompetence of this man. A man who will lose two lives, and break up the coven forever since there will never be another Danvers or Garwin daughter. _

What? Faith wondered trying to see what she was saying.

_I lost myself, and never saw the life of my daughter. You are losing not only yourself, but your precious sister and both of your daughters. Who committed the worse crime? I punished my brother, but your supposed-to-be-rescuer will fail even worse than my wretched brother. Should he go unpunished? _The voice demanded.

Should he?

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He saw the flames as soon as he arrived, and rushed the last few yards to the burning building. He wished it was water instead; at least he could have swam.

_You are wasting time when you could be saving your own lover. You are forsaking that future together with two glorious children? And for what? The lover of another? Is she really worth giving up your own happiness?_

What. The. Hell. Reid wondered. Who was this voice, and who the hell invited him?

_Your own happiness for this flip of a girl who has caused your own brother nothing but pain? How often has she lied to Tyler, or broken his heart? Is she worth the life of your sweet Abigail?_

He wished the voice was corporeal so he could attack it. He used what weak power he had to blast the door open. He rushed in, coughing because of the smoke. He saw Faith lying on the ground, dried blood on her temple. _If she lives, Abigail dies. Another omission she conveniently forgot to mention, I am sure._

That caught his attention.

_Ah, I see she didn't mention that last prophecy that she or Abigail are doomed to die. So I ask again, do you save her, and condemn your lover to death?_

Reid glared as he stalked towards Faith's limp body. He scooped her up and jumped out of the way of some flames that roared in front of him. He choked on the smoke as he tried to find his way back to the door. _So you die in the attempt to save her. _The voice said mockingly. _Ah, well, at least Abigail will live as the two of you die._

Shut. The. Hell. Up. Reid thought. He didn't know what the voice meant by this prophecy, but he knew Abigail and Tyler would never forgive him. More importantly, he would never forgive himself. Sure, Faith hadn't told anyone about Reid's fate, but that was to protect _him._ She had faith in him even though she had no faith in men in general.

Well, with that stupid voice who could blame her?

He had to have faith that Caleb would find and save Abigail. He was the only one other than Chase with enough power and he had a feeling it would be difficult. Things with Abby—Danvers for that matter— were never easy.

He cradled Faith closer as he fell through the window letting the broken glass hurt him, not her. He scrambled back to his feet and rushed away from the building. He found the old well and hoped there was some in it. "Faith?" he checked her pulse and found a thready one. He laid her down gently, and checked just to reassure himself that she was okay. Faith was like a sister to him after all this time. Not just because she was dating his best friend, but because she understood him. She had sided with him and honored his decision not to tell the others even though it hurt her to lie to Tyler.

She deserved to have a future with Tyler or whoever else she chose.

He wasn't sure if the water was good or not but used it to wash the dried blood from her face and to try to cool her off. She started coughing as she woke up. She looked at him groggily. "You came," she said smiling.

The smile quickly faded and was replaced by fear. "Abigail!"

* * *

_Special thanks to **TaylorAlexandra, heartbreakerginny, mischieflover, anangelwithnoname, a.sam, tragicCure **(Hello!)**, Rukie, susangel, lexie aduial, aueren, dreamingoflove4everalways **(Welcome!!)**, kristen elizabeth owens **(I have ambitions to be published, one day!) for the lovely reviews!! Cheered me up after my dentist visit and tooth extraction!_


	39. Danvers part I

Disclaimer:I Do not own or profit from this writing...

**IMPORTANT REMINDER** just a reminder that the first Danvers, Charlotte and Charles, both saw visions of the future. Both saw what would happen (Charles had a vision of his sister's death and didn't prevent it, Charlotte saw the outcome of cursing her brother would bring a curse on her own line) and both continued on regardless. See CHapter 19 (which is chapter 21: Remembering, in the drop down menu) for more : )

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**Chapter 37**: **Danvers pt 1**

Abigail knew she was in a barn. She didn't know which one, but she knew it was on fire and burning supernaturally fast. _Do you want to die?_ A voice asked. She knew the voice well.

Charlotte she thought.

_Yes, child. _

Does it matter if I do or don't?

_No, but your preference does affect your actions._

It was always meant to be me, wasn't it?

_We have a lot to atone for _Charlotte said sadly_. So I ask again. Do you want to die?_

No, not really,' Abigail answered honestly. But it will save Faith. And the others? What about them.

_They have their own choices, dear one._

You told me before I could help.

_I wondered if you would remember that one, it was so long ago. I will show you what they will do and be if they chose rightly._

She was suddenly at Caleb and Sarah's wedding a few years from now, each more in love with each other than ever. It was followed by Pogue and Kate's, and she instinctively knew they would each have a Son and be happy. She saw Chase teaching Isabel and Chase to ride a bike as Hannah watched on and Patience taking Hope to get her ears pierced before fifth grade. Violet and Paul were together with Peony in front of the fireplace regaling her with stories before her first day of second grade.

_Show me Faith, please_ Abigail begged. Instead the agony of Charlotte's death reappeared and she experienced every agonizing moment of it. She knew instantly that the barn she was in was going to crash down around her, and she hoped she was dead before that happened. She could feel the fire and the smoke curling around her, choking her, cutting her off from everything and everyone.

She saw Faith, suddenly, in the hospital holding onto the twins she and Tyler would have, a little Abigail and a little Henry.

_Is it worth it? Charlotte asked. _

It is never worth it, but they will be happy. What about Reid? She demanded.

_I can not show you his. His fate is not set in stone. _

But didn't they already make their choices? That's why I could see their future.

_The future is never set in stone, you know that. _ There was a pause, she didn't know how long, but she heard the roar of the flames getting dangerously close to her body. _You don't even fight! You have experienced my death twice, all of these deaths countless times, and you feel no need to fight! This isn't right!_

Sorry to disappoint, Abigail thought.

_So he doesn't even try to save you? Why am I not surprised. You know Charles saw everything that would happen, yet still took the cowards way out. My revenge may have been a little off, but he still paid. _Abigail thought the description of the hell these last 15 generations had gone through as 'a little off' was more than a little off but didn't say anything.

_'_And you want me to punish Caleb? How can I punish him? He is one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. And he deserves to live, that is why I am making this sacrifice_.' _

_Yet he hasn't come to rescue you. He knew it had to be him, he figured it out, yet he hasn't come, has he?_

_'_You saw the outcome of your curse and you still did it. That makes _you _a monster. I won't follow in your footsteps.'

_So you want no revenge for denying you Deborah and William? Denying not only your happiness, but Reid's as well. Like I said earlier, pathetic. But we are here for you. _

"What?_" _Abigail asked frightened.

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He had never seen a building burn like that. He knew it had to be supernatural. He knew it wouldn't be easy. His vision while he materialized told him that much.

_You saw what I chose, what I did,_ Charles had told him. _I am not proud of what I did._

Would you change what you did?

_Do you even have to ask? Every moment of the last 3 centuries I have hated my actions. Worse because I _knew_ what the outcome would be. We both did, but we both carried on anyways. It won't be easy this time, either. Danvers have been cursed with extreme Power. It is a burden as you know._

Why now?

_I have been waiting to communicate with you. None of my sons have had the ability to see until you._

He used his Power to open the barn doors and rush in. He was glad his power at least seemed to be unaffected. "Abby!" he yelled, his heart in his throat. She could be anywhere in this huge forsaken barn.

He rushed around but didn't have to go far before Abby jumped up in front of him, the fire burning all around them. He had a momentary flashback to the night with Chase and hoped this would end better.

"So kind of you to join us, Caleb," Abby's voice said mockingly, but it wasn't Abby. Her voice and demeanor were all wrong.

"Abby, what are you doing?" he asked cautiously. He was tempted to try to Use to knock her out and drag her out, but he had the suspicions this had to be played out in the barn. The barn that was, currently, burning down on their heads.

"You have come to rescue me?" Abby asked surprised.

"Of course. Why would you doubt it?"

"Because Danvers can not be trusted." She said automatically.

"I am not that Danvers," Caleb yelled.

"They are all the same. Look at all The Sons. They have completely forgotten everything the family went through. Pathetic. All of you Sons are."

"Reid, too?" Caleb demanded. "How could you even think that of him, at least?"

"Why did you even come, Caleb? I am fated to die today."

"Hell no. If you don't have the sense to get out now, then I will get us both out."

"You confuse me," Abby said.

"Be confused later, you are confusing _me_ but since you have no self-preservation then I will." He grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

She jerked his hand back to make him stay. An evil grin on her face. "It isn't that easy, Danvers. _We _have a lot to atone for."

He suddenly understood what _this_ Abigail wanted. "Is that what you believe?"

"It is what I _know_."

"Have Abigail tell me that," Caleb demanded. If it was possible her eyes changed even though nothing physically looked different about them. He could see some sort of internal struggle going on inside her. He could barely breathe, was choking on the smoke as it rolled around both of them. His eyes teared up, and he wondered how Abigail was not suffering like he was. That's when he realized it:

She wasn't breathing.

"Both of us sinned, Danvers," Abigail said quietly. "We both knew and yet we both acted. This is my punishment for us."

"NO!" Abigail yelled, releasing Caleb's hand as she griped her head and he knew it was the real Abigail.

"What was once a curse let linger no longer, as blood has been spilt let it go no farther. Let this mistake pass!" Abigail ordered her eyes flaring dangerously.

She looked at him purposely, a second later Power hit him squarely in chest and sent him flying out the barn with the fiery doors slamming behind him, sealing the barn shut.

"No!" Caleb and Charles both yelled. _It can't end like this!_ Charles yelled at Caleb.

"Like I don't know that!" Caleb yelled at the voice in his head. He didn't realize he yelled it aloud. He brought his Power, even stronger than that night with Chase, up to him. The flames were up to the roof and it would only be a minute or so before the building collapsed.

"Wait!" Voices shouted behind him but he didn't hear them as he used his power to blast the doors open and move himself inside before sealing the fire-engulfed doors shut again.

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_So there is part 1. Special thanks to all of my wonderful readers! Special thanks to **mischieflover** (Ah, I love that reaction, too. Especially Chase's!), **a.sam** (now I feel bad about the suspense in this chapter!) **Lexi Aduial **(It's nice to know that the chapters are still awesome, thanks! We will find out about Caleb and Abby... eventually), **TragicCure** (Well, Danvers' rescue part 1! Part 2 will be... soon)** heartbreakerginny** (Thank you!!) **Sexyone** (Thanks!!) **TaylorAlexandra** (Thank you!!) **AnAngelwithnoname** (Yes, it was short, but I didn't want to expand it with fluff.)** Rukie** (Ah, Reid is a hero : ) So far 4 of them are...) **Kristen Elizabeth Owens** (I haven't seen either/any of the final destinations--are they Good? And I--as an author, not as a reader-- adore cliffhangers!) **Susangel** (I hope you can wait to find out the end of the Danvers encounter : )  
_


	40. Extraordinary Ordinary

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this work.

_Author's notes: This chapter was really hard to write but I am really happy with how it turned out! I never explored Paul's character, but I think this really gives some insight into him, and his relationship with Violet._

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**Chapter 38: Extraordinary Ordinary**

"Okay, let's think," Kate said as they tried to decide where to look for Paul.

"The books don't tell the exact location…" Sarah said worriedly.

"I don't think it will be exactly the same. For starters, we don't have a bunch of paranoid puritans…" Kate said. "How would you crush someone modernly?"

"Building accident?" Sarah suggested. "Where is the nearest dilapidated building? Or is one being torn down right now?"

"There is that old stone outbuilding… on Plymouth Ave," Kate said. "It looks as if it should have been torn down ages ago but the historical society screams whenever someone suggests it, they just don't want to put the money into restoring it."

"We are only half a mile from Plymouth Ave," Sarah said looking around, and ran in that direction, Kate running after her.

Both were lost in thought on the quick sprint. It was a complete guess. They had no idea where to look if this was wrong. "The old house is at the end of the road," Kate panted as they ran.

"What if …" Sarah started, but there were too many what ifs.

What if they were wrong?

What if they were late?

What if they weren't enough?

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Paul wasn't conscious, but he wasn't unconscious. It was suffocating in the dusty darkness.

Somehow, he saw the image of Violet, frightened, but determined. Eyes-- dying eyes-- looking up from a watery grave.

His heart ached for her.

They should have had 7 more years together. He had meant what he told her all those years ago, that he would take the 11 years they had together over not having her at all.

Instead of 11 they had 4.

They had been cheated, and the unfairness of it all was enough to make him see red in the darkness.

A crashing pain shot through his chest. His legs were already numb and judging by the increase pressure, he knew it would almost be over.

He thought of his girls, his family. Patience, who was the rock, and always had an ear, even for him. Hannah, idealistic, but grounded, somehow walking the fine line between the two. Faith, so determined to _not_ have a happily ever after, if such a thing existed, but hoped for one for her sisters. Abigail, who had the weight of the world on her shoulders, yet carried it with grace.

He wanted Peony to take after all of them. His daughter who took after the love of his life so much…

"_How can you stand there and tell me that you _choose_ this?" Violet demanded. "No one _chooses_ this, Paul! No one signs their own death warrant! Nothing is worth that."_

_He brushed back the lock of brown hair that had fallen in her shock and anger. He didn't know how to explain to her that people, that _he_ did choose this, that some things, that _she_ was worth it. _

Thinking back to that day, the last clear memory he had in his head as the blackness engulfed him, he knew he was right.

And he knew he would have made the same choice had he known time ran out for all of them.

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Kate and Sarah stopped short, just staring in awe at the mess in front of them. Where one of the old stone buildings used to stand was nothing but a pile of rubble and mortar.

It looked as if a bomb had gone off.

"Paul!" they both yelled rushing to the building, their shock over as fear motivated them to move.

"How do we even find him!" Kate yelled terrified. "Paul!"

Sarah's own yells echoed Kate's. "Think!" Sarah commanded herself. "Where's the largest pile of rocks?"

They scoured the site, and found the back, where 2 walls and the roof had collapsed in on itself. "Oh sweet mother," Kate said, biting back the fear that threatened to consume her.

They rushed forward. "The beam first," Kate decided.

Terrified of walking on the pile and adding their weight, they reached and pried the large beam to roll off the pile. They moved on to the other 2 beams that were crisscrossed on the stone.

"Paul, hang on!" Sarah yelled, praying he could hear them.

Kate tripped over one of the stones as she tried the last beam; Sarah wiped her bloody hand on her jeans.

They started grabbing the stones which turned out to be no easy feat as each was about the size of their head, and fairly heavy.

"Please," Kate kept muttering under her breath. She had never been this terrified, not even when in the hospital after the bugs, because this time someone else's life was in _her_ hands.

They lifted another rock, finally getting to Paul, and Sarah dropped to her knees as Kate let out a curse.

"Shit!" Kate said. After all that work, they were at the wrong end and had uncovered his feet. They still didn't know if he was alive or not.

They rushed to the other end and dug through the stones quickly but carefully. "Come on, Paul, please hang on," Sarah said hoping to reach him.

"Paul!" a voice in the distance called out.

"Over here!" Kate yelled out as they uncovered Paul's face finally. Sarah quickly checked for a pulse.

"I… I think so," she told Kate. They quickly tried to get more of the rocks off him.

"Paul!" Violet's voice, closer this time, yelled.

Suddenly she was there at Paul's head, wiping away the dust. "Hold on, baby. Don't you dare leave me," she ordered.

"How's your Power?" Kate asked as she tossed aside another stone. Suddenly, Pogue was with her, and she was so relieved she could cry.

After, she told herself. Hold yourself together until after.

"Weak," everyone said to say at the same time and that was when she noticed for the first time that not only had Violet and Pogue arrived, so had Patience and Tyler.

"Stand back," Violet told Kate and Sarah.

"What…" Sarah started to ask when Tyler pulled her back.

Just as Violet's eyes flashed dangerously, the rock's exploded to nothing but dust to be scattered on the wind.

"Paul," Violet said fearfully, cupping his face. She placed her face on his chest. "Fate can not do this to me," she said frightened.

"He's breathing, Vi," Patience said reaching out to her. She put a hand over Paul's heart.

"Wake up, Paul. Wake up right now," Violet ordered. She wiped away the last of the dirt on his face, and moved her hands down his body as if hoping to see if anything was broken inside.

He took in a deep gasp of air as she reached his ribs, and choked on the dust in his mouth. Violet let out a squeal of relief, and hugged him, gently. She kissed him, then threw herself at Kate and then Sarah.

"I don't know how I can ever pay you back," she told them. "We would never have gotten here in time, if it hadn't been for you, he …" she couldn't finish the sentence, the fear still evident in her voice.

She turned back around to see Patience working on one of Paul's wounds as Pogue somehow found something for Paul to drink.

"No thanks needed, Violet," Sarah said, grasping her hand.

"You took us in, told us who you were, how we fit in in all this," Kate smiled. "I am just _so _relieved," she added. She wouldn't have been able to handle it if Paul had died.

She wrapped her arms around Pogue who had come up, and wrapped her in his arms. "Where is everyone else?" Sarah asked.

"Chase and Hannah went to find Abigail and Caleb," Violet said.

"Which is probably where Reid and Faith also went," Tyler predicted, knowing the two of them as he did.

"Did they… are they okay?" Sarah asked fearfully.

"I … I think Faith is okay," Patience said speaking up. "Which tells me Reid is also fine." The Sons didn't say anything; neither Pogue nor Tyler could sense if the others were okay. While they could at times sense huge inflections in Power usage, they weren't as attuned to each other as the Sisters were.

"Abby?" Violet asked, terrified. She had just gotten over the shock of nearly loosing Paul. She couldn't handle the terror over potentially loosing Abby.

Patience shook her head. "Can you sense anything?"

Violet shook her head.

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_Special thanks to **a.sam, tayloralexandra, mischieflover, ReidsGirl, heartbreakerginny, alecygoodness, TragicCure, anangelwithnoname, kristen Elizabeth Owens, Rukie, Coolmags, lexi aduial elen, **and **susangel** for the awesome reviews! I enjoyed each and every one, even the ones yelling at me for the cliffhanger : )_


	41. Danvers II

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Covenant or profit from this writing

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**Chapter 39: Danvers II**

_Something you have never known before. It is never revealed before that final death day _Charlotte said soothingly, and Abigail knew, felt, others around her_. We always come to escort you home._

Abigail saw her mother for the first time since she was six and hugged her tightly. _My brave, brave girl. I knew you would do the right thing. _

_Caleb wasn't necessary, was he?_

_His choice, my love, _her mother said caressing her hair. _I have watched you all these years, and knew you would be the one to break this. I am sorry I told Patience's mother to send Chase away. That was a mistake on my part._

The doors opening and closing startled her, but before she could register why, someone was shaking her. "Is this what is needed, Charlotte?" a voice in Caleb's body demanded.

"How could you do it?" Charlotte demanded. Abigail felt this was the most surreal experience of her life. Normally she went to the past to be part of other people's lives. Now the past was coming forward to be part of her life. The momentary idea that she should write a book like this floated through her mind.

"Don't you think I have hated myself for the last _34 decades_ because of it?" Charles demanded, the agony evident in his voice. "So you punish your precious descendant because of it?"

"This isn't my doing. This is her fate. But not yours," Charlotte said, cupping Caleb's face. "We are all here with her, she is not scared, I promise you."

"It isn't fair or right," Charles said.

"Since when has that ever mattered?"

The barn is burning down around us and they are discussing the fairness of the universe, Abigail thought. She pushed passed Charlotte to take control back of her body. "Get out!" she yelled. "There isn't time for this!"

"No," Caleb, the real Caleb, yelled. "Danvers are seriously screwed up, you know that?"

"This isn't the way it was supposed to be," Abigail said. "Go, tell Reid and Faith I was okay. My mother, Charlotte, everyone is here."

"I refuse to believe this."

"My body is done," Abigail said sadly. "Charlotte's force of will is what is keeping me standing. She wanted to talk to Charles." It was true, Abigail realized.

Charlotte pushed passed her, and Abigail just let go. She didn't have any more strength in her. _You don't have to,_ her mother said. _We are your strength for you now._

"Charles," Charlotte said. "I have forgiven you. Go in peace," she said honestly. "Let your torment go," she said honestly and lovingly. Suddenly Abigail's body went completely limp, crumbling onto the floor. The flames crashed upon her. _We can do this one last thing_ Charles told Caleb. Caleb had already decided it before Charles mentioned the idea. He scooped Abigail's body up and used his Power to materialize them outside as the building caved in on them.

"Abby!" Hannah yelled as Caleb collapsed to his knees with Abigail pressed close to his chest. Chase was there to help cradle her and moved to place her on the ground, but Caleb wouldn't let her go.

Chase placed two fingers on her neck but couldn't meet either of their eyes. "Chase?" Hannah asked hopefully, but he didn't look at her. "NO!" Hannah cried.

Caleb squeezed her hand refusing to believe she was gone. He and Chase met each other's gazes. "Well, what's the use of having these damn Powers anyways," Chase said.

"Can you heal her body?" Caleb asked.

"I am good with burns," Chase said cryptically. He placed both hands on her face to start there.

Caleb felt his power being forced into Abigail's body. Time seemed to have stilled as he held onto Abigail, and Chase slowly moved from Abigail's face to her body. "Would you will her your powers?" Chase asked.

"Yes," Caleb said without hesitation.

"Would you will them to me if it would help her?" he asked, meeting his gaze.

There was a moment pause before Caleb nodded yes. "Is it necessary?"

"No, but I think it's good to know," Chase said, going back to work on her. "What happened in there?"

"Freaky family reunion," Caleb said. He almost dropped Abigail when she took her first breath. Hannah gave a cry as she dropped to cradle Abigail's head. She kissed it gently on the forehead.

"Abby!" Faith yelled as she pushed Hannah out of the way. "No, it was supposed to be me," Faith said sobbing.

"What?" Tyler asked behind her as he rushed up to them. Caleb looked up for the briefest of moments to see that everyone was there, but he refused to let go of Abigail even when Reid arrived. He was terrified if he let go and stopped using his power she would slip away again.

Chase didn't even look up to see who had joined them. "Can someone please tell me what the hell happened?" Patience demanded. She had moved to join Chase in healing Abigail's burns. She noticed Abigail's breathing was steady and gaining in strength and that encouraged her.

"I can't heal all of them," Chase said sadly. "But it's enough to start with," he said tiredly. Hannah pulled him close seeing how exhausted he was. He had only just got the use of his powers back before he started healing her.

"Let's take her home," Patience said. Caleb nodded, and materialized a moment later. Reid followed as Violet grabbed Paul's hand and they with Patience followed a moment later. Hannah grabbed Chase's hand as they materialized out the same time as Tyler and Faith.

"We need to work on our communication woman," Tyler said frustrated as he looked at Faith when they arrived.

_

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_

Sorry this is short, the next chapter will be up soon!

_Special thanks to** MischiefLover **(Thank you, thank you, thank you! ), **a.sam** (This one is short, sorry!, but the next chapter will be back to normal length), **TragicCure** (Thank you!!) **Lexi** (I felt like Paul needed some more time, and so did the other non-power people, : ) **AnAngelwithnoname** (Sorry it took so long!), **EvilAngel** (Yay for the non-magical people indeed!! It ended up being one of my favorite chapters, lol), **Rukie** (Thanks! I'm glad people are liking Paul : ) **AlecyGoodness** (I'll confess that I enjoyed breaking up Abby and Caleb's challenge with Paul, Sarah, and Kate ;) **Aueren** (I am so sad the end is near too! I have no idea what my next new story is, yet, I have others I am finishing up at the moment, I'll have to wait and see...), **TaylorAlexandra** (Thanks!! And my HP one should be updated tonight, hopefully), **Heartbreakerginny** (Ah, thank you!!)_


	42. To Do or Not To Do

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this story...

_ITALICS ARE VISIONS_

**Chapter 40: To Do or Not To Do  
**

"_You're heart is broken into thousands of shards right now," Eleanor Putnam whispered seductively. "It's nothing but a black hole. Always posed with the question of Power or love, and love always loses. The world isn't perfect and those who do evil should be punished."_

_The vision swept to Patience, floating eerily in the water. "You gave up all hope and for what? Who will look after Hope once you're gone?" Abigail could feel the pain and regret Patience had at the thoughts of abandoning her daughter, losing all the precious time that should have been theirs that she never appreciated before now, now when it was at the end of everything and too late. Right when she had made her decision Abigail was pulled to Faith._

"_He is off to ride his white horse to rescue your sister not knowing that he condemns you both. Your own Tyler left your fate to his friend, not even trying to come to your rescue. Not too mention your should-be rescuer is condemning you and your sister, so your sacrifice has been in vain." She felt Faith ponder what Hope Garwin was telling her, accepting the truth of it all. Should Reid pay for ultimately bringing on the death of 2 Daughters?_

_Violet floated, looking at the sky through the waves crashing above her. It was eerily beautiful, looking at it as if through glass. It would have been peaceful except for the insurmountable pain at the loss and death surrounding her. "He doesn't even care enough to try, just like my own brother didn't care enough about me or my daughter. Foolish to place your heart, or your fate, into careless hands." Foolish, it did seem, Violet agreed._

_And Abigail thought her ancestors were annoying. At least they had let her send Caleb out of the burning barn. Did that work? She didn't know. She hoped he had gone out. And stayed out. She remembered Charlotte pushing past her to talk to Charles one last time, and then nothing but her ancestors surrounding her, reassuring her, comforting her before it was all replaced by peace and calmness, the likes of which she had never experienced before. _

_It didn't last long, she could feel Caleb and Chase reaching out to her. Who would have thought they would ever fight together? Didn't they need to rest, too? She could sense, barely, her sisters and the other Sons nearby. "Abs, come back now," Chase's voice ordered._

_He always _was_ bossy, she remembered._

_She turned back to the visions floating in front of her. Four other choices had been made, equally important even if less dramatically. _

"_Go to hell, then," Faith decided yelling her ancestor. "I can't punish him for trying to save my sister. Reid loves her, I would almost hex him if he came here like a good boy." Abigail had to laugh at that. _

"_Pogue Parry," Violet thought, the silence pressing in on her all around. Her own heart wasn't even making any noise to break the silence. If it wasn't for the fact her blood was pounding in her ears she would have thought herself dead. "Live long, have a beautiful boy, make Kate happy," she thought and would have cried if she was able. If she was robbed of a future she prayed he wouldn't be. "It's too late for me, I want you to have the life I wanted for Paul and me."_

_Patience seemed determined to the end to set a good example for Hope. "She may never see this, or know of it, but I won't have her thinking all people are beyond redemption. I want redemption in this," she thought loudly. "I'll curse your brother, Remembrance, and you too, but not Tyler. He's too good for me to ever do that."_

_Hannah's vote was the last to make it official._

"_Chase," she thought sadly. "I'll curse our mothers for sending him away and letting things get out of control. Maybe he would have made a better choice," she told Eleanor who wanted to argue, but Hannah cut in. "I loved the boy, and I like to think I would have loved the man, too, given the chance. I am taking that with me."_

"She'll be fine," Patience assured everyone. She didn't doubt it, but it felt good to say it aloud. She was terrified seeing her youngest sister there so pale, having already died once before Chase and Caleb saved her.

"Is Charles gone?" Chase asked groggily.

Caleb shook his head. "Not yet, not completely."

"Does that mean Charlotte is with her?"

"Who knows?" Chase said and took a deep breath to steady himself. The only other person he had ever cared about that had died was his mother. Those kids during his "dark days" didn't mean anything to him, but Abigail was family.

"Take a rest, Caleb," Reid said coming up beside him taking Abigail's hand from him. As much as Caleb wanted to protest, he knew Reid would do everything he could to keep her from leaving again.

"She will be fine," Patience said again with more conviction. "The prophecy didn't say she had to stay dead," she thought. First thing she had done was have Violet fetch that cursed piece of foresight. "She needs to rest. We all do," she pointed out. "Out." Violet and Paul left to their own room. Faith looked torn between wanting to stay with Abigail and wanting to explain things to Tyler. Eventually Patience motioned for her and Hannah to also leave. It hadn't been an easy day for any of them. "You guys feel free to take any room you want," Patience offered kindly. "You need to rest, too," she told them.

Tyler walked out and contemplated for a moment before going to Faith's room. He opened the door quietly in case she had fallen asleep—she looked dead on her feet. Instead, she was sitting at the window seat looking out over the scenery. She didn't hear him, which gave him the chance to just study her for a minute.

"Spring will be here soon," he finally said. She snapped her head around to stare at him. "You need to sleep."

"Honestly, I'm afraid to close my eyes."

"Abigail will be fine. Caleb and Chase are still there with her, and Reid too."

"That's a weird ménage a quatre," Faith said with a tired smile. "Caleb will go to Sarah soon enough, and I hope Chase will go find Hannah."

"Why couldn't you tell us what the hell you were planning?"

"I don't know," she said tiredly. "Part of it was not to let anyone think about it too much, just to let what happens happen."

He walked up to sit on the opposite side of the window seat. "I am trying to understand this, Faith," he grumbled. "What if Reid hadn't been there in time and it was _you_ who had died?"

"I think it would have been Abby all along."

"That doesn't change anything, it _could_ have been you!"

"I thought it would be, don't you think I was scared? I believed, or Hope did, or we did—that's where it gets confusing—that Reid would go to save Abigail. The whole rash do-first-think-second thing you all yell at him about. Where would that leave both of us, Abby and I?" Faith demanded. "I thought for sure I would die because of it, and I hated that I didn't get a proper goodbye with my nieces and nephew, never see my sisters again, never see _you_ again!"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"What was I supposed to do? Tell you the plan, condemning my own sister? Tell me Tyler, what would you have done? Wouldn't you rather sacrifice yourself for any of those people out there than let them suffer? Besides, Abigail just found it a few weeks ago. She was going through to find out what we would miss in the future, what we didn't know in the future. She found that, and showed it to me since it applied only to the two of us. I was so shocked. I couldn't think about it for awhile. I refused to think about it. At the end of this, either she of I would die," she said tearfully, resting her head on her drawn up knees.

"You knew for over 2 weeks, how could you not tell me?"

"By the time I finally wrapped my head around the whole concept, everyone started putting this plan into action. Then I was afraid if I told you, you would come after me instead of saving Patience," Faith said truthfully. "That, and I couldn't figure out how to say goodbye. I didn't want to say goodbye."

"Do you have any other secrets?" he asked, finally after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"I hate the Red Sox," she admitted. "I hate baseball in general, so I have no desire to root for the home team."

Tyler laughed making her grin. "Faith, I already knew that one. I figured that one out during the world series."

"Ah, then no, I'm out of secrets."

He ran his hand gently down the side of her face. "Good. Let's get some sleep," he said grabbing her hand and leading her back to her bed.  


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_Special thanks to all the reviews! This week has been completely insane! Review to keep my spirits up!!_

_and a huge thank you for making this story 300 reviews! Woo-Hoo!!  
_

_Thanks to **mischieflover**, **a.sam**, **TaylorAlexandra**, **lexi Aduial Elen**, **gxaxbxbxy**_, _**heartbreakerginny**, **evilangel**, **susangel**, **TragicCure**, **anangelwithnoname**, **Rukie**, and **101Jade**_


	43. Aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this writing

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**Chapter 41: Aftermath  
**

Abigail felt warm, but this was a more _earthy_ warm, she decided. More solid. No more of that ethereal, neither here nor there, stuff.

More importantly, it reminded her of Reid. That made her smile as she decided to just enjoy it for a moment. Knowing her luck she was probably in a hospital somewhere.

She cracked open an eye slowly, afraid of what she would see, but also because it took so much effort. Finally she managed to force both open.

Well, that was her ceiling. Good sign. And judging by the amount of pain she was in, she was alive. Another good sign.

Reid felt her stir and propped himself up on an elbow as he looked down at her. She hadn't been asleep nearly long enough to heal, but at the same time every minute she was asleep was driving him nuts.

"Thank God you are awake," he said, looking into her bright blue eyes. He thought of how she would be when she would wake up, what both of their reactions would be, but this one was completely unexpected. She burst into sobs that wracked her entire body. He pulled her close to comfort them both as she cried.

"You're okay now," he whispered into her ear.

She nodded. "I . . . I couldn't see before this . . . what the outcome would be," she said trying to get a breath. He brushed her hair back. "Then, I saw everyone but you and me," she said. "They wouldn't show me what happened to you, which scared me so much," she said.

"We are both fine," he promised. "You still have some serious burns on the lower half of your torso and your left leg. Chase started with your face even though your legs were a little worse. I think he knows how important vanity can be after being burned," he grinned.

She just tried to bury her face further into his chest. "Why are you here? Don't you hate me now?"

"Hardly. Angry, sure," he admitted. "But I'll wait till you are a little more healed to argue. It could hardly be a fair fight what with you bedridden and all." He tried to make the conversation light which she appreciated.

"I'm afraid to close my eyes," she admitted.

"I am right here, promise." She found herself in a comfortable position where the pain was bearable and she fell back asleep. He held her close wondering how the other reunions were going. He wasn't sure whose reaction he was more curious see—Tyler's or Chase's. Thinking about the different scenarios gave him something to pass the time.

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"They are fine," Christiana Simms promised when Hannah called. "Patience just called to talk to Hope, who was quite worried I can tell you," Christiana continued. "Peony was a doll, which I already told Violet. Chase and Isabel were just dolls. I might have gone a little crazy on buying them toys," she admitted.

"Thank you so much, Christiana. I can come get them…later, I am going to nap first."

"Take your time, Honey. Tyler called and he sounded exhausted too. I hope you are all okay."

"Oh, we are all fine," Hannah said happily. "And now that I know the twins are fine, everything is perfect. Feel free to buy them as much as you want, give them as much sugar as you want. You have my permission to spoil them rotten."

"Oh, I will. The other moms are coming and going too. You might need a new room to house all of their things," she laughed. "Take care, then." Hannah hung up and leaned back in her computer chair.

"I could have told you they were fine," Chase said, standing in the doorway. "I popped over for a moment. Peony was taking a nap, but Hope was playing with Isabel and Chase."

"Oh, I forgot, your ether trick," Hannah said tiredly. Suddenly she felt shy around Chase. She had _never_ felt shy around Chase. Ever. She was baffled as to what to do next.

"I, uh, well…I'll let you get some sleep."

"Wait," Hannah said jumping up. "Uh, thanks for saving Abigail, Chase."

"Of course," Chase said surprised. "Contrary to what the _sons_ may think or say, I wouldn't let anything happen to you girls."

"I know that," Hannah said. "I . . . this is just more awkward than I thought," she admitted truthfully, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. "I feel like I have so much to say, I _do _have so much I want to say to you, but I have no idea where _we_ stand, what you feel anymore."

"Hannah," He said kneeling in front of her to make her look at him. "We have plenty to talk about. Several things that this whole fiasco brought up."

"Oh, how could you have picked power?!" Hannah demanded angrily, remembering the confrontation that seemed like ages ago.

"I _didn't_!" he argued. "Did no one hear me? I asked it as a question!" he huffed. She was shocked, and couldn't help but think how adorable he looked irritated.

"A question?" she asked confused.

"Yes! I said 'power?' as in, did you honestly think I would pick it over you? Damn it, Hannah, I have always picked you over everything. Even if it was only a one-sided thing."

"That's not true!" Hannah said defensively. "When you left I cried myself to sleep for months!"

"I didn't _leave_, I was forced out," he said bitterly.

"We didn't know, we didn't want it, Chase," she said cupping his face to make him look at her, and see the truth of her words. "I hated Violet's and Patience's mothers for doing that. And Abigail's mom for whatever it was she told them before she died. When it was just the five of us, I begged and pleaded with Patience to try to find you but she said no one would listen to her."

"You want to hear my confession?" he asked, and she nodded. "You know I am obsessive," he started and she laughed. "You have always been my first obsession, Anna," he said. "I wanted to come to you as soon as I found these powers. Then I had so many problems with them, I couldn't stand it if something happened to you because of them. What if I scared you, or one of the other girls? Then the whole thing with Caleb, and afterwards I was so messed up. Even now, I'm not completely healed."

"We will fix it, all of it," Hannah promised.

Chase took of his shirt and a scar began on his lower back and disappeared under his pants. "Hannah, I am not even completely healed physically yet. I didn't want you to see me until I was."

Hannah had him lie down on his stomach and she traced a finger over the scars on his lower back. "It doesn't bother you?" Chase asked, surprised, hopeful.

"Why would it?" Hannah asked bewildered. "Battle scars are sexy," she teased. "Girls like them. Abby goes gaga over Reid's tattoos you know."

"No, I didn't know that. And I would have been happy without knowing," Chase groaned, burying his face in the pillows. "You can keep things like that from me, its okay, I promise." Hannah laughed as she rolled him over and leaned over to kiss him.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked. "Stay with me?" He nodded and she laid her head on his chest as she fell asleep, the exhaustion of the whole ordeal finally pulling them under.

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"We are almost twins," Abigail told Chase happily three days later. She lifted her shirt a little to show the scarring on her back. "See? Burn buddies," she teased making him roll his eyes.

"That's not exactly something to brag about, Abs," Chase said.

"Yeah, but it's something between me and you that Hannah can't share," she teased. "She is almost as obsessive as you, at least when it comes to you."

"That is not true," Hannah said which started a 'uh-huh, nu-uh' war between the two of them.

"Anything new to report?" Patience asked, coming in.

"I saw everyone's roll in this," Abigail said. "And I mean every darm minute of everything."

"You okay?" Chase asked.

"Yeah, and I am so proud of everyone," Abigail said happily hugging Tyler who was closest. "Those ancestors sure know what to say to twist the knife."

"Hell yes," Pogue said.

"So, is it over?" Caleb asked.

"Neah," Abigail said slyly.

"Huh? What kind of answer is that?"

"The kind a psychic gives when she doesn't tell her secrets," Abigail grinned.

"What did you see?"

"Like I tell all," Abigail said.

"Don't you?" Patience asked. "I mean, you see more than I remember your mother seeing."

"Hardly," Abigail said. "I only tell what people need to know. But about this…well... I don't know. I mean, yes the curse is broken, but I don't think . . ."

They all looked at her curiously. "Let's just wait a few months and see, okay? I am not sure if what I saw was a vision or just a delusion from everything."

"In the mean time, Hope's inheritance is in a week," Patience said in awe. "I can't believe she is turning 7 already, it seems like it was only yesterday we were all rushing to the hospital…" she trailed off thinking back.

"Violet only had her permit's license," Hannah snickered. "I thought for sure someone was going to arrest the lot of us."

"I thought it was great fun," Faith said stealing a cookie from the platter in front of Chase.

Patience snorted. "That is because you were not the one in labor."

"She is the only one who has not been in labor. Ever," Abigail added stealing the last cookie out from under Chase's nose making him pout.

"Your visions shouldn't count," Faith said.

"How many have you experienced?" Sarah asked Abigail.

"Last count was 9," Abigail said. "What are the plans?"

"The same as it has been for generations," Patience said. "And I told her I would take her shopping to buy a new dress," she said grabbing her purse. "A week. I can't believe it," she said walking out to make sure Hope was ready.

"What happens?" Caleb asked curious. "Is it much like ours?"

"No, ours is prettier," Abigail teased.

"she means that," Faith added. "After having seen 2 of yours, I have to agree: ours are prettier."

"Do you think that now that the curse is broken, any future girls will still be 7?" Chase wondered. "Will boys still be 18? How is this all going to work out?" he wondered, thinking about Chase and Isabel, and grinned when Violet brought out more cookies for them.

"I remember your sweet tooth," she grinned.

"You were always the fun one," he winked.

"Hey," Hannah hit his shoulder.

"I meant compared with Patience," He said quickly. "Pats hid the sweets."

"In the same cupboard. It didn't take a genius to find them. Even Hope has learned the hiding place now," Paul spoke up.

"So I don't win points for originality," Patience said as she walked by with Hope.

Hope rushed up to hug Faith. "Mommy says I can get a pretty dress for my inheritance," she said excitedly. "We watched the videos last night!"

"Come on, Hope," Patience smiled. She held out her hand and Hope rushed up to take it, waving to the group as they walked out.

"Videos?" Pogue asked.

The girls shared a look. "you'll find out later," Violet said.

"How did you keep the inheritance from me?" Chase asked.

"For Faith's, you spent the night at a friend's house, your first sleep over," Violet remembered fondly. "For Abby's, your mom took you to the circus to spend the day with you."

"You brought me back that stuff elephant," Abigail remembered fondly. "I still have it, you know. Mr. Peanuts," she grinned.

"Is there anything we need to do to help with Hope's inheritance?" Sarah asked.

"We have that down," Violet grinned. "It's exciting! The first of the next generation," she said looking down at Peony who was being held by Paul.

"A little over 6 years for Isabel's," Hannah shook her head. Chase squeezed her hand. "I don't want to think about it," she decided.

"Well, in the meantime, I have a paper to finish," Faith said.

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"What's going to happen?" Caleb asked.

"Shh, you'll find out," Abigail grinned impishly.

"That smile is much to much like Faith's," Tyler pointed out.

"Patience is going to bring her in any moment," Violet hushed them. They were in the manor house in Ipswich where they always celebrated the inheritance birthdays.

"What time will it happen again?" Pogue asked curiously.

"7:34 tonight," Hannah said.

"What was this about you going to force Pats to go on a blind date?" Chase asked Tyler.

Everyone shifted to stare at Tyler.

"What?" he said defensively. "I…" before he could say anything else the front door opened and Patience and Hope arrived. When she walked into the front parlor everyone yelled "Surprise!"

Hope just stared at everyone in shock for several seconds before excitedly going around to hug everyone. The entire parlor had a medieval princess theme and everyone was in costume to match the dress Patience had bought for Hope's birthday. "Did I mention I am glad we went with the Princess theme?" Hannah winked, twirling in her princess gown. "It comes complete with my own Knight in shining armor," she grinned, kissing Chases' cheek.

Everyone followed Hope around as she explored their hours worth of decorating to turn the Manor house into a castle. "There is a horse!" she yelled in surprised delight when she looked out the back window. "Mommy! We have a horse!"

"Just for today," Patience said.

"Can I ride it?"

"Why do you think we got it?" Paul grinned. He mounted first and Tyler helped lift Hope up to him.

They watched Hope ride off with Paul, laughing and giggling. "The one bad thing about breaking the curse?" Patience started.

"There is something bad about the curse being over?" Pogue asked.

"Now I am terrified everything is going to hurt her. I never had to worry about that before," Patience said.

"Look at how happy she is, Patience," Abigail said wrapping an arm around her waist. She gestured to where Paul and Hope were riding in the field, Hope obviously having the time of her life. "That's life."

After several games and eating cake and opening presents, it was finally close to Hope's time.

"Are you nervous?" Reid asked Hope.

Hope shook her head solemnly suddenly look much older than her seven years. "I am ready," she said happily. "What do I do?" she asked Patience.

"Nothing," Patience said.

"Just breath," Abigail encouraged looking at the clock. They had 2 minutes.

"What happens?" Tyler asked.

"Pretty, pretty lights," Hannah grinned.

"Shh," Abigail said, feeling it begin.

Suddenly Hope sucked in a deep breath, drawing everyone's attention. Light began to emanate from some other source other than the lamps and it took the Sons a moment to realize that it was coming from Hope.

As if they were playing with her, the lights began to swirl around her until they finally melded into her and Hope became a beacon of pure, white light in a sea of semi-darkness.

When the light faded, Hope's eyes remained pure white with a flash of gold before returning to her normal violet eyes.

The Daughters all squealed happily and all tried to hug Hope at the same time. "I can not believe you are a big girl now," Patience said.

"I feel different," Hope said confused.

"Now all the Power is inside of you," Faith said reassuringly. "You'll get use to it."

It took a moment for the girls to realize that Paul was the only one with them. They looked over to see the Sons just watching them. "Did we scare you?" Violet teased.

"Constantly," Reid grinned.

Tyler came up to Hope first. "You were beautiful, Hope," He said honestly. It had been such a shock to the Sons to see something so beautiful and pure from the Power.

When Patience finally went to put the exhausted Hope to bed much later, Faith decided the mood needed to be lifted and waved a DVD. "Videos?" she grinned. "It's our own Inheritance," she explained. Patience had played the video for Hope so the girl would know what to expect.

Abigail turned to the Sons. "What's wrong?"

"It was different," Caleb said.

"It might not be any longer," Violet pointed out.

"In a way, I hope they will always be like that," Chase said as Patience reemerged and brought in bowls of popcorn once she heard about the home videos. "I don't want them to suffer with the Power, like we have. It should always be a beautiful and pure thing."

"It will be what we make it," Hannah determined.

* * *

_Special thanks to everyone who reviews. Unfortunately the new system won't let me go back and reread them here (*Bah*). A HUGE thank you to all of you!_

_There will be one last chapter, an epilogue, so stay tuned!  
_


	44. Epilogue: Vignettes

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from this writing

_It took me a long time to write this-- partly because I didn't want it to end, and partly because real life is soooo busy at the moment! _

_

* * *

_**Epilogue: Vignettes**

"Hope! Play nice!" Abigail chided as Hope played with the boy who had adorable brown curls from the train, her new best friend named Michael.

"How can this be happening?" Violet asked as she pushed Peony back and forth in the stroller. She was cooing and trying to shake at something with her fist. "I mean, you said we broke the curse!"

"We did!" Abigail said. "I swear we did."

"But Patience is now locked in her room on her death day!" Hannah said frustrated. "I mean, this means Violet will have hers in a few months, then me, then Faith, then _you_. How could _you_ still have to go through that hell after everything we did?"

"Do you want Isabel, Chase, Peony, and Hope to forget what we went through?" Abigail asked.

"They won't, we'll tell them," Violet huffed.

"Yes, but fifty years from now—no, make that 150, long after we are all dead—who will tell them? They'll just be stories to the new generation. How do you convince them that myth, that legend, is fact? Not just fact, but a warning?"

"You make them remember," Faith sighed.

"You constantly remind them," Abigail agreed. "So we will continue to have death days to remind us of what we did, and why we had to do what we did so future generations will remember what _not_ to do. Welcome to the whacked tradition," she added to the Sons with a smirk. They now would all have death days on the anniversary of the day they broke the curse.

"Will it be enough?" Hannah asked curiously.

"I don't know," Abigail shrugged. "The future isn't set in stone. If it was, I would be dead in 6 years."

"Hallelujah it isn't set in stone, then," Chase said from behind Hannah where he was playing with baby Chase. "Otherwise I would have died that night, you would die in a few years, Chase and Isabel would die before their time," Baby Chase broke out into a laugh. "That wasn't really funny, Chase," Chase scolded.

"He has a diabolical sense of humor, like his father," Hannah teased.

"Maybe he's happy we don't have to die. I'm laughing," Faith teased.

"So, Miss-I-Knew-We-Would-Continue-These-Damn-Death-Days-but-kept-my-mouth-shut, anything else we should know about?"

"Nope," Abigail said slyly. Everyone pouted. "Trust me, you will enjoy it so much more just experiencing life. A _long_ life with all of us together."

_**Le fin.**_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

originally this is where I ended it, BUT… I can't help myself.. ^_^

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"Ready?" Patience asked as she adjusted the skirt.

"No," Abigail shook her head.

"I am just glad you waited," Patience said.

"And that Chase and I didn't," Hannah winked. Chase and Hannah had married a year after breaking the curse on the one year anniversary. Abigail and Reid, Faith and Tyler, however, waited until they finished college.

"You two were meant to be together since before," Violet gushed. "Even if you did it all out of order," she teased.

"What can I say? We do things our own way," Hannah smiled.

"Not helping with the nerves," Abigail said.

"You would see if he changed his mind. Then we would curse him," Faith promised. The five sisters shared looks and burst into laughter.

"It would be worth it," Violet said between breaths. A knock on the door was followed by Paul walking in. "You look beautiful, Abby," he smiled.

Abigail hugged him. "Are the guys ready?" she asked.

He nodded. "If you don't hurry, we are worried Reid is going to do something rash. The popular theory is he is just going to storm in and cart you off," Paul teased.

"Then we will hex him for ruining all the planning we put into this wedding!" Violet jested.

"Ready, Hope?" Patience asked her now 12 year old daughter.

Hope grasped the basket with rose petals. "Ready," she said.

"I'll go signal the others," Paul said, giving Abigail one last kiss on the cheek.

"Give us a few more minutes," Violet whispered and he nodded knowingly.

"I am just glad you are staying in Ipswich," Patience said.

"The Garwin manor is certainly big enough for the two of us and Christiana," Abigail said. "And besides, we plan on traveling a lot."

"You look like a princess," Faith encouraged.

"You are next," Abigail reminded her.

"You have the fairytale wedding," Faith nodded. "Tyler and I, we are going with an outdoor affair. I am thinking a 30s theme," she smiled. "Not too mention I found the most perfect dress,"she said looking at Abigail in her princess gown. It had white etchings embroidered into it that gave the dress an extra elegant flounce and her blonde hair was piled on top of her head where her tiara sat elegantly.

Violet and Hannah managed the train between them as they gently placed it over her head. "Absolutely princess like," Hannah promised.

"We worked hard for our story book ending," Abigail decided. "We should enjoy it now. Especially now that we can."

Another knock was heard and this time Caleb and Chase's heads popped in. "Wow," Chase said letting out a whistle. "I think I got the wrong sister," he teased making Hannah hit him. "Just kidding, Anna," he grinned and kissed her temple. "But you look gorgeous, Abs," he insisted.

"I hope Reid thinks so, too," Abigail smiled.

"He will," Caleb promised. "Reid wanted us to make sure you haven't changed your mind," he added. "Even though Paul just came out five minutes ago promising you were still marrying him, and Tyler and Pogue 10 minutes before that," he laughed.

"We are doing secret girl rituals, so go," Faith said and ushered them out.

"Alright, any longer and Reid will declare this cruel and unusual punishment," Patience decided. "So unless you have changed your mind, we should get this show on the road."

Abigail took a deep breath. "Alright, I can't wait any longer anyways," she added. With Patience and Violet holding the train as they maneuvered around the back of the church to the doors, they quickly made their way. Hope grinned at Abigail before the doors opened for her. "My wedding is going to be just like this," she decided.

"Michael has to ask you first," Hannah reminded her.

"You are not getting married until you are at least 30," Patience decided. She couldn't imagine Hope being old enough to be married; it was hard enough to imagine Abigail and Faith getting married.

"Mom," Hope rolled her eyes. The doors opened and Hope walked down the isle distributing her rose petals.

Abigail grasped Patience's hand as it fixed her veil. She watched Violet walk out and then Hannah. "I can't think of anyone else I would rather have to give me away," she told Patience. She figured it was the emotions of the wedding, but she wanted to make sure Patience knew how important this was to her. "You were always both the oldest sister and our mother, especially for me and Faith."

Patience nodded, blinking so her tears wouldn't ruin her makeup. "You were always a little sister and a daughter," Patience agreed.

"Which is why you are also giving me away," Faith said in front of them. She smoothed her maid-of-honor skirt and then she stepped into the archway to walk down the aisle, the doors shutting behind her.

"Ready?" Abigail asked, a smile bright enough to light a city on her face.

"I should have made you wait until you were 30, too," Patience decided with a grin. "And here we go," she said as the wedding march started and the doors opened to reveal Abigail to Reid and everyone else in the church.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I had 5 home pregnancy tests. I have never been so nervous peeing before!" Faith insisted.

"This is fantastic! Finally, another daughter," Violet insisted. "When is your doctor's appointment?"

"Tomorrow afternoon," Faith grinned. "Tyler …. Well, once he could speak again, couldn't stop gushing."

"Does he want a son or daughter first? Or will you have both at the same time, I wonder?" Hannah said more to herself than Faith.

"He said he wants our Daughter, first," Faith admitted, blushing. "I think he is going to spoil her rotten."

"Ah, believe me, Tyler will dote on her," Abigail promised. "And your son. And No, they do not have twins," she added.

"Why was I the only one, then? Didn't you say that you saw Faith and Tyler had twins in your vision?"

"That was before we broke the curse," Abigail reminded them. "We now have a blank slate—sort of," she frowned. It was still complicated. "Lines after us, now that the bloodlines are reunited, will now have a boy or girl. It is like time of old again, except for the death days," she added.

"I think I have a headache," Violet sighed. "Will Paul and I have more children?"

"I don't think so; everything starts over with the next generation. I think," Abigail wrinkled her nose, looking as if she was trying to remember something she forgot when she was really trying to peak into the future.

"Well, we will find out soon enough," Faith said excitedly.

The next day the sons and daughters were waiting at the Coven Manor House in Ipswich for Faith and Tyler to return from the obstetrician. "Well?" everyone demanded as soon as the couple walked in.

"I am having a baby!" Faith said excitedly.

"_A_ baby? As in, one?" Paul clarified.

"What do you mean it's only one?" Hannah demanded.

"That's what the doctor said…" Faith trailed off.

"Which?" everyone demanded.

"It's a little early," Faith laughed.

"Does it matter?" Abigail asked.

"Yes," Sons and Daughters all said making Faith laugh even harder. She placed her hands over her stomach. "I can do a sonogram in a few weeks," she grinned.

"Ah, I think little Connor is quite content keeping it a secret," Abigail grinned as she patted Faith's stomach.

"A Son?" Faith asked surprised. Tyler swooped Faith up in his arms, then realizing it, quickly set her down gently. "We are not breakable," Faith smiled as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and brought his face down for a kiss.

"Little Charity is going to have a big brother!" Abigail said happily. "But don't wait too long to have your daughter," she added. "Charity is a little impatient, much like her mother," she teased.

"Lets worry about Connor first," Tyler said, floored. It was too surreal to think about Baby Charity when Baby Connor hadn't arrived yet. "Connor?" he asked Faith.

"You don't like? I thought it went nice with Charity," she said. "When do cravings start because right now I could totally go for some bar-b-que and pizza. With extra green peppers."

"You hate green peppers," Tyler reminded her.

"Baby on board," Faith said as she made her way to the kitchen, returning a moment later with a bowl of ice cream, two slices of toast and a glass of tea.

"Her cravings are only going to get worse," Abigail cautioned Tyler. "Especially for Caramel." Knowing Tyler he would buy out a candy store—or caramel factory—for Faith.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"There was one good thing about the curse," Patience said as they all waited in the parlor.

"Good?" Chase repeated. "This I have to know."

"I knew we had short time, a half life, but at least I didn't have to worry about everyone dying before their determined time. Now… everything is a threat, a danger."

"Especially cars," Paul said knowingly.

"I just can't believe she is 16 already," Patience said. The last 8 years since they had broken the curse had been a living nightmare—suddenly with their freedom came a slew of dangers they had no protection against.

"Well, I congratulate you on acting like you are unaffected," Tyler joked.

"Hope has no clue you are on pins and needles," Chase added.

"She will be fine. She still has her Power, and you know she is both responsible and quick witted," Faith said. She looked to where Charity was playing with her dolls with baby Eleanor. Charity had inherited her eyes while Conner had inherited Tyler's; they both had black hair, like both Faith and Tyler. Eleanor's hair was a golden contrast to Charity's, just as Abigail's had been to Faith's.

"I know… it is just odd adjusting to a new set of worries," Patience tried to explain.

The Daughters shared a look; it was in Patience's nature to worry and nurture.

"Well, I am glad Jasper is over his cold," Caleb said changing topics.

"Yes, unfortunately he gave it to Quinn," Reid frowned at Caleb and Sarah. They had learned quickly: colds passed just as fast as toys amongst all the kids, especially since they were in the same pre-school. Caleb and Sarah's son, Jasper, had just gotten over a cold and passed it on to Graham, Pogue and Kate's son, and now Quinn, Reid and Abigail's.

"Chicken pocx are next," Abigail sighed and everyone groaned.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Peony rushed in the Coven manor house, breathless. "Aunt Abby!" she called out. Abigail raised an eyebrow as she walked out of the parlor.

"Peony Parry, what is wrong?"

"It's here!" she handed the large envelope to her aunt. Abigail ripped the paper and let out her own squeal. The two girls jumped up and down excitedly.

"What is going on?" Chase asked curiously as he walked in.

"It came!" Peony said excitedly.

Abigail handed him the letter as she pulled out her cell phone. "Reid!" she gushed. "They are publishing it!"

"Abs, this is great!" Chase congratulated.

Hands wrapped around her waist as she clicked her cell phone off. She leaned back against Reid who had appeared suddenly. "We have to celebrate," Reid said kissing her neck.

"I'll tell the others," Chase volunteered and dematerialized.

Peony made a face. "If he can get Hope away from her boyfriend," she said, making Reid snort and Abigail try not to laugh.

"Boys don't have cooties forever," Abigail promised.

"Let me see it!" Hannah squealed as she materialized with their twins who were now, unbelievably, 18. She snatched the book out of Abigail's hands to look at it and let out another squeal.

"About time!" Faith's voice sounded a second before she arrived. She was followed with the rest of the family and children.

"_Betrayal By Blood _ by Abigail Coven," Faith read aloud.

"The editor says he is already expecting your sequel," Reid read the letter.

"Good, because lets face it, the men need to redeem themselves," Chase said flipping through the book.

"Hey, I think I show all sides," Abigail defended, but then burst into laughter. "Alright, I may have a little bias towards the Daughters, but I do try to be fair to the Sons. After all, it was just as much their fault as the Sons."

"Not that they would agree," Patience smiled. She flipped to the dedication page:

_To the Daughters (Charlotte, Hope, Eleanor, Rosemary, and Remembrance) and the Sons ( Charles, Nathaniel, Daniel, Peter, and James)—This is your story. May you finally be at peace._

_To Us: Reid, Faith, Tyler, Hannah, Chase, Violet, Patience, Poque, Sarah, Kate, Caleb—the future is bright! _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Okay, who just stepped on my foot!" someone complained.

"Ouch! Too tight!" another yelled, tears clouding their eyes as someone pulled their hair too tightly.

"There is a reason corsets went out of fashion!" a third voice complained.

"And don't forget to tie her bow!"

"Where did the hairbrush go?"

"Where did the boy go?"

"You lost my son?"

"He is _your_ son."

"You borrowed him!"

"Should we step in and help?" Abigail whispered to Faith.

"This brings back memories," Faith grinned impishly.

"Who lost my grandson?" Hannah demanded marching into the commotion. "You have another, Aunt Hannah," Charity pointed out.

Patience sighed as she stood in the doorway. "Some things _never _change," she said walking into the mayhem that was their family. "Hannah, your grandson is currently chasing the flower girl next door because she stole his action figure. Peony, I'll fix your hair, and Violet will help Sascha with her shoe," she ordered.

She looked to Abigail and Faith. "Don't just stand around!"

"Yes ma'am," they saluted.

"Whose idea was it to have these hokey celebrations anyways?" Amore, Hope's 13 year old daughter, asked.

"Hokey?"

"Isn't that the language from back in your day?" another asked.

"I only feel old with everyone under one roof," Patience sighed.

"Uh-oh, someone is trying Patience's patience!" Paul teased the children.

"Does that ever get old?" Quinn, Abigail and Reid's son, asked.

"No, it doesn't," Paul grinned. "We have the bar-be-que already; Hope, Michael was looking for you," he added naming Hope's husband.

"Why are we getting dressed up again?"

Abigail bent to help retie a few shoes. "Because Eleanor is bringing her boyfriend to meet the whole family. We don't want too scare him to badly the first time, do we?"

"Yes," several of the younger children chorused.

"Mom!" Eleanor said. "He already thinks we are…"

"Eccentric?" Abigail offered.

"Come on, remember when I brought Henry to meet the family?" Charity told her cousin.

"Yeah, the youngest accidentally set his pants on fire," Connor pointed out glaring at Nan, the youngest of the brood.

"No fires today," Patience cautioned. "Go play," she shooed them outdoors. "He will not come to harm today, Eleanor, promise."

"Thanks Aunt Patience," Eleanor grinned.

"Just keep him away from your father… and uncles," Violet cautioned making the Daughters laugh.

Eleanor groaned as she rushed down the stairs to let her boyfriend in. She knew her aunt's comment should not be taken lightly—any and all of the Sons would grill poor Daniel to death.

"So explain this celebration to me again?" Daniel asked as she led him to the back. The whole family—every single Son and Daughter—had gathered at the Coven Manor House in Ipswich for the anniversary of the breaking of the curse.

"Remember that story I told you about our family history?"

Daniel nodded. "The one your mother based her books on?"

Eleanor nodded. "This is the anniversary of the day we won. We always have a big celebration… and I wanted you to be part of it," she said trying not to blush.

"So _everyone_ is here?" Daniel asked slightly terrified. He had met her parents—terrifying in itself—but the thought of everyone was intimidating.

They ran into her older brother, Quinn, first and then Abigail and Reid. Familiar faces helped to make everything less frightening. "My Aunt Patience, Aunt Violet and Uncle Paul, Aunt Hannah and Uncle Chase, Aunt Faith and Uncle Tyler, Uncle Caleb and Aunt Sarah, and Uncle Pogue and Aunt Kate," she pointed out the adults. "You know Conner and Charity," she pointed out Faith's children. "Hope, and that's Michael," she pointed out Hope's husband, "Hope's daughter, Amore." She looked around to see who she had missed. She pointed down the table to see Hanna and Chase's kids. "Isabel, her husband Chris, and Chase and his wife, Tiffany."

"These little rugrats," she said gesturing to the youngest kids, "belong to Hannah. They are her grandbabies."

"No quiz on names, right?" Daniel asked.

"Not yet," Pogue promised. Kate elbowed him to tell him to be nice.

"What was it like growing up … with …"

"This crazy family?" Eleanor grinned. "Incredibly. Fun."

"I can only imagine."

* * *

_Author's Notes:__ Well, I couldn't decide the best way to end it, and the idea of vignettes, or snippets, just highlighting everything, seemed like a great idea. And a great way of writing a sequel if I ever chose to ^_^_

_A HUGE, HUGE thanks to all of my readers for making this such a big hit! I never expected it when I first started this story a year ago! It is the biggest in terms of hits and reviews of any single story! _

_Special thanks to everyone who reviewed! HeartbreakerGinny, TAYLORandTOBYfreak, Susangel, anangelwithnoname, Aueren, Rukie, gxaxbxbxy, Mischieflover, Lexi Aduial Elen, evilangel, , evil bunny of death, tayloralexandra, TragicCure, 101Jade, alecygoodness, coolmags, Kristen Elizabeth Owens, ReidsGirl, twilighterforeternity, dreamingoflove4veralways, youaremybrandofheroin, kail, moonwolfrunner, sexyone, quietone, passionate reader, grlwithoutaname, siriously scotia, moan6stars, luckystar, evil bunny of death, littlebitlonger-can't have you, luthien, anghel ni Kamatayan, kari, shadow wolf dagger, kaayla lovely, the last llama, dresden lace, Cheyenne, ChelseaBabe, water goddess, Christina, Supernatural GilmoreGirls, Aurora Rose, Clockworksharks, angelnessa, avidswimmer, HunnieWeAreMadeFromVodkaAndIce, BuffyandSpke-4ever, Erica, Deanne Stevenson, Mighty Kajtek, Love Buggy, Tyler Lover _(I hope I didn't miss anyone!)

_And a HUGE thanks to _WeasleyXisXmyXking for being an awesome beta! Couldnt' have done it without your support! You understand my craziness so well ^_^


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